Boron-enhanced diffusion of boron from ultralow-energy ion implantation

We have investigated the diffusion enhancement mechanism of boron-enhanced diffusion (BED), wherein boron diffusivity is enhanced four to five times over the equilibrium diffusivity at 1050 °C in the proximity of a silicon layer containing a high boron concentration. It is demonstrated that BED is driven by excess interstitials injected from the high boron concentration layer during annealing. For evaporated layers, BED is observed above a threshold boron concentration between 1% and 10%, though it appears to be closer to 1% for B-implanted layers. For sub-keV B implants above the threshold, BED dominates over the contribution from transient-enhanced diffusion to junction depth. For 0.5 keV B, this threshold implantation dose lies between 3×1014 and 1×1015 cm−2. It is proposed that the excess interstitials responsible for BED are produced during the formation of a silicon boride phase in the high B concentration layers.