Observation of vacancy enhancement during rapid thermal annealing in nitrogen

Nitridation of bare silicon surfaces in ammonia ambients is known to introduce vacancies into silicon. It is known that nitride films may form also during annealing in nitrogen ambients. Within the work presented here, the effects of such anneals on the redistribution of vacancies were investigated by low-temperature platinum diffusion. It will be shown that annealing in nitrogen ambients at temperatures of 1200 and 1250 deg C leads to an increase of the vacancy concentration with time.