Silicon self-interstitial properties deduced from platinum profiles after annealing with controlled cooling

Experiments of platinum diffusion in silicon were used to extract information about the equilibrium concentration of silicon self-interstitials. In these experiments, the platinum was driven in from a silicide and the temperature was ramped down with different rates after the main annealing process at constant temperature. Simulations show that the concentration of substitutional platinum in the bulk region is sensitive to the value of the equilibrium concentration of self-interstitials within a certain range. It was therefore possible to determine an upper limit for that parameter at 830°C based on our measurements.