Atomic Configurations and Energetics of Arsenic Impurities in a Silicon Grain Boundary
- 6 July 1998
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review Letters
- Vol. 81 (1), 132-135
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.81.132
Abstract
We report direct atomic-resolution -contrast imaging of arsenic impurities segregated in specific atomic columns in a silicon grain boundary. Through a combination of image intensity analysis, first-principles calculations, and statistical mechanics, we establish that segregation occurs in the form of isolated dimers. The formation of As dimers in the boundary is shown to be favored over ordered chains by entropic considerations and kinetic constraints. The observed segregation is consistent with known solubilities.
Keywords
This publication has 20 references indexed in Scilit:
- Dopant Segregation at Semiconductor Grain Boundaries through Cooperative Chemical RebondingPhysical Review Letters, 1996
- Incoherent imaging of crystals using thermally scattered electronsProceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A: Mathematical and Physical Sciences, 1995
- Direct Determination of Grain Boundary Atomic Structure in SrTiO 3Science, 1994
- First Principles Determination of the Effects of Phosphorus and Boron on Iron Grain Boundary CohesionScience, 1994
- Electron trapping and impurity segregation without defects:Ab initiostudy of perfectly rebonded grain boundariesPhysical Review B, 1994
- Precipitation, aggregation, and diffusion in heavily arsenic-doped siliconPhysical Review B, 1994
- Atomic resolution Z-contrast imaging of interfacesActa Metallurgica et Materialia, 1992
- ANALYSIS OF STRUCTURES OF SYMMETRICAL [001] TILT GRAIN BOUNDARIES IN SILICON AND GERMANIUMLe Journal de Physique Colloques, 1990
- Elemental mapping with elastically scattered electronsJournal of Microscopy, 1986
- Lattice imaging of a grain boundary in crystalline germaniumPhilosophical Magazine, 1977