Data for Metallisation-associated degradation of silicon coated with thin dielectric layers

In some cases, annealing at 400 °C in forming gas provides partial recovery of the damage. By performing superacid re-passivation experiments on previously metallised samples, we find that the damage is shallower than ~6 µm from the surface. Electron-beam evaporation of metals, including aluminium, reduces effective lifetime even in samples with ~25 nm thick Al2O3 passivation layers.

With electron-beam evaporation, annealing in forming gas at 400 °C only recovers the damage when the Al2O3 films are ≥20 nm thick, with the damage in thinner films shown to be >3 µm deep into the silicon. The work shows that the choice of process used for metal contact deposition can affect the properties of the sample structure under investigation.<br><br>Photoluminescence imaging of metallised semiconductor and dielectric-coated semiconductor samples supporting related publication