Low-temperature processing of antimony-implanted silicon

It is shown for the first time that antimony-implanted silicon produces the highest electrical activation (90%) with low resistivity (<200 ohms/square) following low-temperature processing. Thus, annealing at 650°C produces the best results for antimony, whereas for arsenic, it is necessary to anneal at temperatures above 1000°C to get optimum results. Silicon was implanted with antimony at 12 keV and 40 keV and doses of 8.5×10¹⁴ cm⁻² and 4×10¹⁴ cm⁻², respectively, and arsenic at equivalent energies and doses. The electrical data from both implants are compared in order to identify the process conditions require to obtain optimum results. It is demonstrated that annealing below 800°C produces electrical profiles with no measurable diffusion of the antimony, but higher temperature anneals produce significant diffusional broadening.