Neutralization of electrically active aluminum in recrystallized silicon-on-sapphire films

We report the effect of steam oxidation at 875° C on the electrical resistivity, crystalline quality (measured by ion channeling), and Al concentration (measured by secondary ion mass spectrometry) in 0.25 μm thick, Si-implanted and recrystallized, Si-on-sapphire films. After a deep Si implantation (180 keV, 1.4×l0¹⁵ Si/cm²) at room temperature, and solid-phase epitaxial regrowth from the non-amorphized, 0.03 μm thick surface region, the initially undoped SOS films become doped p-type, and their resistivity decreases from (1−5)xl0¹⁴ ficm to 0.5 Ωcm. The doping is due to electrically active Al, released from the A1₂O₃ by the Si implantation, and present in the recrystallized films at a concentration of ≃2×l0¹⁶ Al/cm³ . After a 75 min steam oxidation at 875 °C, which consumes 0.06 Μm of Si, the resistivity of the recrystallized films increases to over 40 Ωcm, but the Al concentration is unchanged. The oxidation also uncovers higher quality material below the non-recrystallized surface layer. A semi-quantitative model is proposed to explain the electrical data, based on the diffusion of oxygen from the Si/SiO₂ interface into the SOS film during oxidation, and the formation of Al-O-Si neutral complexes. Data on the stability of the high-resistivity films against high-temperature annealing or re-amorphization and annealing is given.