Calculation, measurement and control of the energy barriers and the light-induced kinetics of the A_Si-Si_i defect

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Stefan Krischok; Dr. Kevin Lauer; Professor Dr. Erich Runge
• Subject Area: Experimental Condensed Matter Physics
• Term: from 2020 to 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 445152322

• Final Report Year: 2025

Final Report Abstract

Silicon technology has a wide range of applications that can be found everywhere in everyday life today. Applications such as computers, smartphones, sensors, detectors, solar cells, and many more have only become possible thanks to decades of research into silicon and the necessary technological processes. Nevertheless, there are still phenomena and mechanisms that are not understood, especially in the area of defects and degradation. A better understanding is necessary, because defects are necessary for the functioning of devices, but can also have negative effects. The project investigated a special category of defects that involve an acceptor and interstitial silicon, so-called ASi-Sii-defects. They presumably contribute predominantly to the light-induced degradation of solar cells and detector components. Specifically, in this project the energy barriers between different defect states of the ASi-Siidefects, some of which had to be identified first, were investigated and determined in strong cooperation between experiment and theory. The barrier heights have a direct influence on the defect kinetics and stability, so that knowledge about them is essential. If they can be adjusted (e.g. by the chosen acceptor) device properties can be modified in the desired way. For example, the efficiency and lifetime of solar cells can be increased. It also appears possible that defects from this category could be used as qubits opening a route towards silicon-based quantum technology. This could be subject of future research. The project made a strong contribution to the fundamental understanding of ASi-Sii-defects and lays the foundation for further research into this interesting category of defects.

Link to the final report

https://oa.tib.eu/renate/handle/123456789/18842

Publications

• 1 38th RD50 Workshop 21.-23.6.2021 Investigation of acceptor removal by 4-point probe and LTPL measurements
  K. Lauer
  
• 19th GADEST 10.-16.9.2022 Low temperature photoluminescence investigation of light-in-duced degradation in boron doped CZ-silicon Poster
  K. Peh
  
• 2 40th RD50 Workshop 21.-24.6.2022 The ASi-Sii-defect - a possible candidate to explain acceptor removal in LGADs Vortrag
  K. Lauer
  
• 3 DPG Frühjahrstagung 4.-9.9.2022 Simulation of the reaction kinetics of the ASi-Sii-defect Vortrag
  K. Lauer
  
• 4 DPG Frühjahrstagung 4.-9.9.2022 Low temperature photoluminescence investigation of light-induced degradation in boron doped CZ-silicon Vortrag
  K. Peh
  
• 5 DPG Frühjahrstagung 4.-9.9.2022 Energy landscape of the Boron and Indium single-atom defects in Silicon calculated by DFTVortrag
  A. Flötotto
  
• 6 DPG Frühjahrstagung 4.-9.9.2022 Investigation of various quenching materials on the P-line Vortrag
  D. Bratek
  
• Low‐Temperature Photoluminescence Investigation of Light‐Induced Degradation in Boron‐Doped CZ Silicon. physica status solidi (a), 219(17).
  Peh, Katharina; Lauer, Kevin; Flötotto, Aaron; Schulze, Dirk & Krischok, Stefan
  
• TheASi–SiiDefect Model of Light‐Induced Degradation (LID) in Silicon: A Discussion and Review. physica status solidi (a), 219(19).
  Lauer, Kevin; Peh, Katharina; Schulze, Dirk; Ortlepp, Thomas; Runge, Erich & Krischok, Stefan
  
• 32nd International Conference on Defects in Semiconductors (ICDS) 10.-15.9.2023 DFT study of B-Si-defects for modelling light-induced degradation (LID) in silicon Vortrag
  A. Flötotto
  
• 43th RD50 Workshop 28.11.-1.12.2023 The numerous configurations of „interstitial boron“ and their involvement in ARP of LGADs Vortrag
  K. Lauer
  
• 4th International Workshop on Inelastic Ion-Surface Collisions (IISC) 10.-15.9.2023 Effect of inelastic ion collisions on Low Gain Avalanche Detectors (LGAD) explained by the ASi-Sii-defect model Vortrag
  S. Krischok
  
• 5. Symposium Materialtechnik (CZM) 23.-24.2.2023 Modeling the light-induced degradation (LID) in silicon due to ASi-Sii-defects Vortrag [4]
  S. Krischok
  
• 60th Ilmenau Scientific Colloquium 4.-8.9.2023 Defect-engineering for better silicon devices based on understanding of the ASi-Sii-defect Vortrag
  K. Lauer
  
• 6th International Conference on Materials Science & Nanotechnology 6.-7.9.2023 Investigation of a LID defect energy barrier confirming the relationship between the "P-line" in the indium doped silicon PL spectra to the ASi-Sii-defect model Vortrag
  K. Peh
  
• Calibration of Low‐Temperature Photoluminescence of Boron‐Doped Silicon with Increased Temperature Precision. physica status solidi (b), 260(10).
  Peh, Katharina; Flötotto, Aaron; Lauer, Kevin; Schulze, Dirk; Bratek, Dominik & Krischok, Stefan
  
• CiS Analytik Workshop 06.06.2023 10 years of ASi-Sii-defect development: Breakthrough measurements Vortrag
  K. Lauer
  
• DPG Frühjahrstagung 26.-31.3.2023 Calibration of low temperature photoluminescence of boron doped silicon with increased temperature precision Vortrag [5]
  K. Peh
  
• DPG Frühjahrstagung 26.-31.3.2023 Dependence of the activation energy of light-induced degradation (LID) in silicon on the illumination intensity Vortrag
  K. Lauer
  
• DPG Frühjahrstagung 26.-31.3.2023 Energy landscape of B–Si defects calculated by DFT for modelling light induced degradation in Silicon Vortrag
  A. Flötotto
  
• DPG Frühjahrstagung 26.-31.3.2023 Investigation of the influence of light-induced degradation on boron- and indium-doped silicon Poster
  R. Müller
  
• DPG Frühjahrstagung 26.-31.3.2023 Investigation of the P-line in indium doped silicon with low Temperature photoluminescence by applying an illumination cycle Poster
  D. Bratek
  
• Modeling the light-induced degradation (LID) in silicon due to ASi-Sii-defects. Tagungsband 5. Niedersächsisches Symposium Materialtechnik: 23. bis 24. Februar 2023, Jun. 2023
  K. Lauer & al.
  
• 1st DRD3 Workshop 17.-21.6.2024 Investigation of defect meta-stabilities in silicon doped with thallium by low temperature photoluminescence spectroscopy Vortrag
  K. Lauer
  
• 20th GADEST 8.-13.9.2024 Exploring ASi-Sii-defects as qubits Vortrag
  K. Lauer
  
• 20th GADEST 8.-13.9.2024 Investigation of Tl-doped silicon by low temperature photoluminescence during LID treatments Poster
  K. Lauer
  
• 20th GADEST 8.-13.9.2024 Relationship between the P-line in indium-doped silicon spectra and the recent ASi-Sii-defect model Vortrag
  K. Peh
  
• 20th GADEST 8.-13.9.2024 Theoretical investigation of single Boron defects in silicon Poster
  A. Flötotto
  
• 2nd DRD3 Workshop 2.-6.12.2024 Impact of a magnetic field on integrated low-temperature photoluminescence of quenched silicon Vortrag
  K. Lauer
  
• 6th International Conference of Optics 3.-4.11.2024 Investigation of a LID defect energy barrier using a P‐line in Low Temperature PL spectra of indium-doped silicon Vortrag
  D. Schulze
  
• DPG Frühjahrstagung 17.-22.3.2024 Energy landscape around the BSi-Sii defect - a DFT Study Poster
  A. Flötotto
  
• DPG Frühjahrstagung 17.-22.3.2024 Investigation of a LID defect energy barrier using a P-line appearing in indium-doped silicon PL spectra Vortrag
  K. Peh
  
• DPG Frühjahrstagung 17.-22.3.2024 Low temperature photoluminescence investigation of boron doped and quenched silicon Vortrag
  K. Lauer
  
• DPG Frühjahrstagung 17.-22.3.2024 Luminescence study of light induced degradation in thallium implanted silicon Vortrag
  R. Müller
  
• Effect of inelastic ion collisions on low-gain avalanche detectors explained by an ASi-Si -defect mode. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, 555, 165472.
  Lauer, Kevin; Reiß, Stephanie; Flötotto, Aaron; Peh, Katharina; Bratek, Dominik; Müller, Robin; Schulze, Dirk; Beenken, Wichard; Hiller, Erik; Ortlepp, Thomas & Krischok, Stefan
  
• Examining the properties of the ASi-Sii-defects for their potential as qubits
  K. Lauer et al.
  
• Examining the properties of the ASi-Sii-defects for their potential as qubits. GADEST, Bad Schandau: ResearchGate, May 2024
  K. Lauer & al.
  
• Investigation of Tl‐Doped Silicon by Low‐Temperature Photoluminescence during Light‐Induced Degradation Treatments. physica status solidi (a), 221(17).
  Lauer, Kevin; Müller, Robin; Peh, Katharina; Schulze, Dirk; Krischok, Stefan; Reiß, Stephanie; Frank, Andreas & Ortlepp, Thomas
  
• Light‐Induced Degradation Transition Energy Barrier Measured by Photoluminescence Spectra in Si:In. physica status solidi (a), 221(17).
  Peh, Katharina; Bratek, Dominik; Lauer, Kevin; Müller, Robin Lars Benedikt; Schulze, Dirk; Flötotto, Aaron & Krischok, Stefan
  
• SPIE Photonics West 27.2.-1.3.2024 Pushing the understanding of quantum defects in silicon ahead to tailor quantum sensing by low-gain avalanche detectors Vortrag
  A. Winzer
  
• ‘Dependence of the activation energy of the light-induced degradation reaction in silicon on the illumination intensity’, Tagungsband 6. Niedersächsisches Symposium Materialtechnik, Nov. 2024.
  K. Lauer, T. Klein, T. Ortlepp, K. Peh, D. Schulze & S. Krischok
  
• 6. Symposium Materialtechnik (CZM) 20.-22.2.2025 Dependence of the activation energy of the light-induced degradation reaction in silicon on the illumination intensity Vortrag
  S. Krischok
  
• DPG Frühjahrstagung 17.-21.3.2025 A. Flötotto Electronic structure and energy landscape of BSi-Sii related defects Poster
  A. Flötotto
  
• DPG Frühjahrstagung 17.-21.3.2025 Impact of a magnetic field on lowtemperature photoluminescence of indium-doped silicon Vortrag
  K. Lauer
  
• Electronic structure and energy landscape of BSiSii related defects. Physical Review Materials, 9(2).
  Flötotto, Aaron; Beenken, Wichard J. D.; Lauer, Kevin; Krischok, Stefan & Runge, Erich