Light-induced boron-oxygen defect generation in compensated p-type Czochralski silicon

The concentration of boron-oxygen defects generated in compensated p-type Czochralski silicon has been measured via carrier lifetime measurements taken before and after activating the defect with illumination. The rate of formation of these defects was also measured. Both the concentration and the rate were found to depend on the net doping rather than the total boron concentration. These results imply that the additional compensated boron exists in a form that is not able to bond with the oxygen dimers, thus prohibiting the formation of the defect. This could be explained by the presence of boron-phosphorus complexes, as proposed in previous work. Evidence for reduced carrier mobilities in compensated silicon is also presented, which has implications for photoconductance-based carrier lifetime measurements and solar cell performance. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3121208]