Amorphous-layer regrowth and activation of P and as implanted Si by low-temperature microwave annealing

Microwave annealing of dopants in Si has been reported to produce highly activated junctions at temperatures far below those needed for comparable results using conventional thermal processes. However, the details of the kinetics and mechanisms for microwave annealing are far from well understood. In this paper, 20-keV arsenic (As) and 15-keV phosphorus (P) implants, in a dose range from 1 to 5 × 10^-15cm², were annealed by microwave methods at temperatures below 500 °C. These junctions were characterized by profile studies with secondary ion mass spectrometry and spreading resistance profiling, sheet resistance with four-point probe, and extensive use of cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy to follow the regrowth of the as-implanted amorphous layers created by the implantation. The amorphous-layer regrowth was observed to be uneven in time, with relatively little amorphous/crystalline interface motion for less than 50 s, followed by rapid regrowth for longer times. Sheet resistance values continued to drop for anneal times after the regrowth process was complete, with some evidence of dopant deactivation for anneal times of 600 s.