ESR study of E´ trapping centers in SIMOX oxides

The authors explore E´ trapping centers in separation by implanted oxygen (SIMOX) buried oxides with electron spin resonance (ESR) and capacitance vs. voltage (CV) measurements. Through the use of vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) (10.2 eV) and ultraviolet (5 eV) illumination combined with ESR and CV measurements, they present evidence that E´ centers are important in SIMOX trapping and that thermal oxide trapping and SIMOX trapping involve different mechanisms. It is shown that E´ precursors are present in higher density in the SIMOX oxides explored than in thermal oxides. Large changes in E´ density are induced by injecting electrons or holes into VUV illuminated oxides; this shows that a high percentage of the centers are efficient traps. CV measurements show low amounts of net space charge; this suggests a compensating trap mechanism