6H-SiC single crystals were grown on various substrates, treated mechanically and chemically in different conditions, by physical vapor transport. To investigate the defect evolution according to the different substrate treatment prior to the growth, the grown crystals were examined by optical micrograph, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and molten KOH etching technique. The smoother substrate surface was, the lower defect density the grown SiC had. The highest quality SiC crystal was grown on substrate etched by hydrogen after polished by 0.25 νm diamond paste, having an edge/screw dislocation density of 7.3 ×102 / cm2 without micropipes. Defects, such as dislocations and micropipes, of the grown crystals are found to be strongly correlated with the substrate morphology.

We have succeeded in the fabrication of low-resistivity p-type ZnS with blue -Ag emission by triple-codoping using Ag, a Zn-substituting species, In, a Zn-substituting species, and N, a S-substituting species. For the realization of blue-Ag emission at 436 nm, we use In species as co-activators with Ag activators. For the control of conduction type to obtain p-type ZnS thin films, we introduce N species as acceptors into ZnS codoped with the Ag and In. On the basis of the analysis of the experimental data and calculated results, we proposed a model for ZnS:(Ag, In, and N), in which some of the In species act as coactivators with Ag activators and other In species act as reactive codopants with N acceptors.

Efficient room temperature silicon based light emitting diodes have been fabricated by conventional ULSI processes using a recently developed dislocation engineering approach. Strong silicon band edge luminescence was observed from devices fabricated by low energy boron implantation into silicon substrates followed by high temperature rapid thermal annealing. In this paper we review the luminescence properties of silicon light emitting diodes and give an example of how this approach can be employed to fabricate and optimise light emitting devices operating at different wavelengths.

Highly conductive tracks are generated in low-doped epilayers on 4H-SiC wafers using a laserdirect write technique. The current-voltage characteristics are measured to study the effect of the applied voltage on the electric resistance and the surface contact of the irradiated tracks. The effect of multiple irradiations on the electronic properties of the fabricated tracks was investigated and compared with the effect of the conventional annealing process. A laser doping process was used to achieve n-type as well as p-type impurity doping in the substrate. The electronic properties of the doped tracks are measured and compared with those of the untreated wafers. Microstructural observation and surface analysis of the irradiated tracks are studied. Laser fabrication of rectifying contact on SiC substrates is demonstrated.

Defects relating to Er-doping of hydrogenated amorphous silicon films in amorphous/ crystalline (a-Si:H(Er) / n-Si) heterostructures used as light emitters were studied. Electrical parameters of the defects were evaluated by thermally activated current (TAC) and capacitance (TACap) spectroscopy, and high-frequency (1 MHz) capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics measured at 77 K. For charging of the traps, visible light illumination at low temperatures and thermal-bias stress at various temperatures were used. The amplitude of TAC was found to increase monotonically with increase of Er concentration in the a-Si:H film. The traps, with activation energies in the range 0.10 - 0.35 eV and 0.5 - 0.6 eV, were charged under both light and thermal-bias stress, and may be associated with the deep levels in the band-gap of a-Si:H. High-temperature current peaks with activation energies of 0.8-0.9 eV emerged only under thermal-bias stress and were strongly dependent on the charging temperature. It is suggested that these high-temperature thermally activated processes are related to polarization of the Er-O bonds in the amorphous matrix of a-Si:H. C-V measurements show that charging of the structure by negative substrate bias leads to net electron trapping in the a-Si:H(Er) film, whereas charging by positive bias result in net hole trapping. The model of Er-related electroluminescence in a-Si:H(Er) / n-Si heterostructures involving electron-hole recombination via deep levels located in the vicinity of [Er-O] inclusions is discussed.

(111) oriented silicon samples were implanted at room temperature with 1.55 MeV 3He ions in the dose range of 5×1015 to 5×1016/cm2. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) was used to study the evolution of bubbles and extended defects during subsequent thermal annealing at 800°C and 900°C for 30min. The He desorption from bubbles and bubble precursors was measured by means of nuclear reaction analysis (NRA). TEM observations show that no bubbles were observed in Si implanted at doses lower than 1×1016/cm2, while a well-defined cavity band was formed after implantation at 5×1016/cm2 and subsequent thermal annealing. At the intermediary dose of 2×1016/cm2, however, the evolution of bubbles and extended defects is quite different. The bubbles prefer to nucleate in large planar clusters surrounded by a high density of dislocation loops emerging from them. The clusters of bubbles act as the sources of the dislocation loops. NRA measurements indicate that the He desorption behavior is also dose-dependent. The He desorption is achieved much faster in low dose implanted Si. The results are qualitatively discussed.

The role of imperfections on the initiation and propagation of interface delaminations in compressed thin films has been analyzed using experiments with diamond-like carbon (DLC) films deposited onto glass substrates. The surface topologies and interface separations have been characterized by using the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) and the Focused Ion Beam (FIB) imaging system. The lengths and amplitudes of numerous imperfections have been measured by AFM and the interface separations characterized on cross sections made with the FIB. Chemical analysis of several sites, performed using Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES), has revealed the origin of the imperfections. The incidence of buckles has been correlated with the imperfection length.

Influence of trapping and detrapping on the diffusion behavior of H in Si is investigated using both experiment and theory. Experimental H (or D) diffusion profiles, produced by plasma and ion implantation processes, are fitted with a theoretical model. This model includes three kinds of traps – stationary, process-induced, and mobile. Excellent correlation between theory and experiment is observed. Best–fit parameters provide an insight into the trapping mechanisms. We also show how some of the problems resulting from trapping can be circumvented by suitable process conditions.

In this work we present steady-state characteristics and low-frequency noise spectra of AlGaN/GaN based high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) exposed to gamma ray radiation. The devices with a variety of gate length (150-350 nm) and width (100-400 νm) were irradiated by 60Co gamma rays with doses in the range of 104-109 Rad and flux of 102 Rad/s. Dose dependencies of basic operating parameters of the transistors, such as saturation current (Isat), transconductance (gm), channel conductance (gc), and threshold voltage (VT) are analysed. Our study show that visible changes of above mentioned parameters are observed under relatively small doses (105 Rad) and strongly depend on the HEMT's topology. The transconductance decreases and threshold voltage becomes more negative for all devices while deviation of these parameters from its initial values does not exceed 20% at highest irradiation dose. At the same time variation of the channel conductance as well as saturation current depends to a high extent on the gate voltage (Vg). At |Vg| < |Vcr|, both Isat and gc show a reversal proportional to the cumulative dosage of radiation. However, at |Vg| > |Vcr|, drain saturation current and channel conductance increase with the cumulative dosage of radiation. The effect is more pronounced in short-length-gate devices.

We study electrical signature of defect clusters in KeV Ar ion-implanted n-silicon using Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy (DLTS) and isothermal capacitance spectroscopies such as time analyzed transient spectroscopy (TATS) and high resolution Laplace-DLTS. The samples are annealed at relatively low temperatures of 350 °C - 600 °C at which defect clusters are known to form and evolve. Contrary to the view that few dominant point-defect like traps are associated with defect clusters, our results show that the band gap may be replete with bands of multiple trap states; however their occupation and hence observation depends on experimental conditions dictated by dynamics of carrier capture and emission at these traps. Charge redistribution among multiple states and deepening of effective emission energy with capture are shown to be commonly occurring at these defects. Isothermal transient spectroscopy is shown to be appropriate tool for recognition of some of these features.

The presence of N in III-V compounds such as GaAs and GaP drastically changes the behavior of H. We studied atomic structures of N-related hydrogen complexes in GaP:N using first-principles method. We show that the formation of the strong N-H bond is responsible for the stabilization of H2* complex that is otherwise unstable against the formation of H2 molecule. This provides the first theoretical proof that H2* can be stable in III-V semiconductor. The previously proposed H-N-H dihydride model is found to be unstable against spontaneously transforming into H2*, which involves only monohydrides, H-N and H-Ga. The calculated local vibration frequencies and isotope shifts are in good agreement with experiment.

For IC fabrications using CZ Si, intrinsic gettering utilizing oxygen precipitation has been extensively studied in the past, with the main efforts concentrated on the engineering and scientific aspects of the creation of gettering sites. The present review, however, will focus on recent progresses on the modeling of processes and mechanisms of the gettering of metallic impurities from the device active regions to the created gettering regions, together with the electrical activity of impurity precipitates.