Gettering of Impurities in Silicon

ABSTRACTDespite the apparent dissimilarities between different gettering methods, we show that many can be understood in terms of two basic mechanisms. The first involves the interaction of selfinterstitials (emitted, for example, by P in-diffusion and precipitation, 0 precipitation, or Ar implantation) with the impurities to be gettered. The second relies on a strain-field/point defect interaction (for example around a dislocation), which appears capable of enhancing the diffusivity of the impurities. In either case, gettering can be viewed as a particular and particularly useful instance of the wider class of defect/defect interactions.