Diffusion Mechanism of Nickel and Point Defects in Silicon

Abstract

The in-diffusion of nickel into silicon and the annealing of nickel in silicon have been studied experimentally at 900°C. The variations in concentration of substitutional nickel with time are described well by an exponential function predicted from a dissociative mechanism, in both the in-diffusion and annealing processes. The time constant in the annealing process is substantially independent of the initial concentration of substitutional nickel. These results support the theory that nickel in silicon diffuses by a dissociative mechanism and that the dominant point defects in silicon are vacancies.