Defect and impurity states in silicon nitride

Abstract

The electronic levels associated with silicon and nitrogen dangling bonds and Si‐H, N‐H, and Si‐Si units within bulk Si₃N₄ have been calculated using the tight‐binding and recursion methods. The Si dangling bond, the Si‐H σ state and the Si‐Si σ state all lie in the gap. The Si‐Si σ state lies in midgap and could be a long‐term hole trap. The Si dangling bond state lies just below the conduction band and could act as a very efficient electron trap.