The effect of stress on the production and evolution of defects in ion-implanted silicon

Semiconductor devices are subjected to large stresses and strains during processing, and often contain engineered strained-layers to improve their performance. However, much remains to be understood about how these stresses and strains affect the formation and evolution of radiation damage produced by ion-implantation. This project aims to address this deficiency by studying radiation damage in silicon wafers subjected to controlled compressive and tensile stress, including its evolution during thermal annealing. The results are of obvious technological value but will also provide crucial data for testing analytical models, atomistic computer models and process simulations.