Effect of post-implantation amorphization on microstructural development of the buried oxide layer in low-dose SIMOX material

Summary form only given. In processing of SIMOX material, understanding the formation of the buried-oxide (BOX) layer and the effect of processing parameters is critical to production of high quality material. Most studies have focused on higher dose SIMOX material, typically 1.8/spl times/10/sup 18/ cm/sup -2/, but since the BOX is relatively thick (/spl sim/400 nm), the defects, such as Si islands, have a small effect on electrical characteristics while the density of Si pipes, which short the top Si layer and the substrate, is very low. As dose is decreased, however, the pipe density can increase with a lower dose limit at which a continuous BOX can form. Recently, Holland et al. (1996) reported that pre-amorphization of the as-implanted region prior to annealing can extend the lower limit. It was proposed that rapid diffusion of oxygen along grain boundaries in the recrystallized layer promoted formation of a continuous BOX during annealing. To examine this phenomenon, we report a comparison of microstructural development during annealing of the BOX for untreated and post-amorphized implant low-dose SIMOX.