Analysis of Ion Implantation Damage in Silicon Wafers by a Contactless Microwave Diagnostic

Rapid thermal annealing (RTA) of lattice damage created by heavy ion implantation damage is required to maintain the integrity of semiconductor material used for submicron-integrated circuit devices. A quick, efficient, and contactless diagnostic of the implantation damage is highly desirable in both research and production environments. A contactless measurement technique has been recently applied to this problem that uses a deeply penetrating low-frequency microwave probe frequency operating at 420 MHz. Here, we will demonstrate the use of this high frequency resonance-coupled photoconductive decay (RCPCD) technique, which, when combined with a tunable optical excitation source, enables us to map the radiation damage in boron and arsenic-implanted silicon wafers. We quantify the damage by mapping the minority-carrier lifetime as a function of optical penetration depth. In this work, we quickly and efficiently compared the effectiveness of various RTA processes by the RCPCD diagnostic.