Boron - nitrogen interactions in liquid silicon

The interactions of boron and nitrogen in liquid silicon have been investigated experimentally. The effect of these interactions on the solubility limit of nitrogen in liquid silicon has been examined, and the precipitation of BN-particles is also discussed. Silicon has been melted in Si₃N₄-crucibles and samples extracted using quartz tubes and a syringe. Prior to melting, 0.1 or 1.5 wt% boron were added to the silicon feedstock. The rapidly quenched samples have been analysed for nitrogen-content using Leco™, and Arrhenius-expressions describing the nitrogen content as functions of temperature were derived for the different boron levels. When comparing the obtained nitrogen contents with results previous results published by the current authors for the pure Si - N-system, it is clear that the presence of boron affects the solubility limit, with much lower levels of nitrogen being detected in the boron-doped samples.