Defect And Impurity Engineered Semiconductors And Devices

This book focuses on the deliberate introduction and manipulation of defects and impurities in order to engineer desired properties in semiconductor materials and devices. In view of current exciting developments in wide-bandgap semiconductors like GaN for blue light emission, as well as high-speed and high-temperature electronics, dopant and defect issues relevant to these materials are addressed. Also featured are semiconductor nanocavities and nano-structures, with emphasis on the formation and impact of vacancy-type defects. Defect reaction problems pertaining to impurity gettering, precipitation and hydrogen passivation are specific examples of defect engineering that improve the electronic quality of the material. A number of papers also deal with characterization techniques needed to study and to identify defects in materials and device structures. Finally, papers also address issues such as interface control and passivation, application of ion implantation, plasma treatment and rapid thermal processing for creating/activating/suppressing trap levels, and device applications.

Defect engineering has come of age. That theme is well documented by both the academic and industrial research communities in this book from MRS. Going beyond defect control, the book explores the engineering of desired properties in semiconductor materials and devices through the deliberate introduction and manipulation of defects and impurities. Papers are grouped around ten distinct topics covering materials, processing and devices. Topics include: grown-in defects in bulk crystals; grown-in defects in thin films; gettering and related phenomena; hydrogen interaction with semiconductors; defect issues in widegap semiconductors; defect characterization; ion implantation and process-induced defects; defects in devices; interfaces, quantum wells and superlattices; and defect properties, reaction, activation and passivation.

The evolution of semiconductor devices of progressively higher performance has generally followed improved material quality with ever fewer defect concentrations. However, a shift in focus over the years has brought the realization that complete elimination of defects in semiconductors during growth and processing is neither desirable nor necessary. It is expected that the future role of defects in semiconductors will be one of control - in density, properties, spatial location, and perhaps even temporal variation during the operating lifetime of the device. This book explores the effective use of defect control at various facets of technology and widely different semiconductor materials systems. Topics include: grown-in defects in bulk crystals; doping issues; grown-in defects in thin films; doping and defect issues in wide-gap semiconductors; process-induced defects and gettering; defect properties, reactions, activation and passivation; ion implantation and irradiation effects; defects in devices and interfaces; plasma processing; defect characterization; and interfaces, quantum wells and superlattices.

This volume results from a symposium held at the 1995 MRS Spring Meeting, April 17-21, in San Francisco. The symposium, bearing the title of this volume, followed upon a highly successful earlier symposium entitled 'Defect Engineering in Semiconductor Growth. Processing and Device Technology, ' held at the 1992 MRS Spring Meeting. The intent of the present symposium was to go beyond defect control and explore deliberate introduction and manipulation of defects and impurities in order to engineer some desired properties in semiconductor materials and devices. The response from the academic and industrial research communities was overwhelming, with over 280 abstracts submitted from around the world. The theme of defect engineering has clearly come of age. p2.

This book emphasizes the importance of the fascinating atomistic insights into the defects and the impurities as well as the dynamic behaviors in silicon materials, which have become more directly accessible over the past 20 years. Such progress has been made possible by newly developed experimental methods, first principle theories, and computer simulation techniques. The book is aimed at young researchers, scientists, and technicians in related industries. The main purposes are to provide readers with 1) the basic physics behind defects in silicon materials, 2) the atomistic modeling as well as the characterization techniques related to defects and impurities in silicon materials, and 3) an overview of the wide range of the research fields involved.

This book, first published in 2005, explores the deliberate introduction and manipulation of defects and impurities for the purpose of engineering desired properties in semiconductor materials and devices. The presentations are grouped around the distinct topics of materials, processing and devices. The papers on grown-in defects in bulk crystals deal with overviews of intrinsic and impurity-related defects and their influence on electrical, optical and mechanical properties, as well as the use of impurities to arrest certain types of defects during growth and defects to control growth. Most of the papers deal with dopant and defect issues relevant to widegap semiconductors. The scope of defect and impurity engineering is far-ranging, as exemplified by phase and morphological stability of silicides, interface control and passivation, and application of ion implantation, plasma treatment and rapid thermal processing for creating/activating/suppressing trap levels. Papers in these areas are also found in the book.