Fabrication of nitrogen-hyperdoped silicon by high-pressure gas immersion excimer laser doping

Fabrication of nitrogen-hyperdoped silicon by high-pressure gas immersion excimer laser doping | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Fabrication of nitrogen-hyperdoped silicon by high-pressure gas immersion excimer laser doping Josh Barkby, Fabrizio Moro, Michele Perego, Fabiana Taglietti, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3895247/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 23 Aug, 2024 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted 8 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract In recent years, research on hyperdoped semiconductors has accelerated, displaying dopant concentrations far exceedingsolubility limits to surpass the limitations of conventionally doped materials. Nitrogen defects in silicon have been extensivelyinvestigated for their unique characteristics compared to other pnictogen dopants. However, previous practical investigationshave encountered challenges in achieving high nitrogen defect concentrations due to the low solubility and diffusivity ofnitrogen in silicon, and the necessary non-equilibrium techniques, such as ion implantation, resulting in crystal damage andamorphisation. In this study, we present a single-step technique called high-pressure gas immersion excimer laser doping(HP-GIELD) to manufacture nitrogen-hyperdoped silicon. Our approach offers ultrafast processing, scalability, high control, andreproducibility. Employing HP-GIELD, we achieved nitrogen concentrations exceeding 6 at. % (3.01 x 1021 at./cm3) in intrinsicsilicon. Notably, nitrogen concentration remained above the liquid solubility limit to ∼1 μm in depth. HP-GIELD’s high-pressureenvironment effectively suppressed surface damage, while the well-known effects of pulsed laser annealing (PLA) preservedcrystal quality. Additionally, we conducted a theoretical analysis of light-matter interactions and thermal effects governingnitrogen diffusion during HP-GIELD, providing insights into the doping mechanism. Leveraging excimer lasers, our method iswell-suited for integration into high-volume semiconductor manufacturing, particularly front-end-of-line processes. Physical sciences/Materials science Physical sciences/Physics Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files supplement.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 23 Aug, 2024 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 07 Mar, 2024 Reviews received at journal 22 Feb, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 20 Feb, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 20 Feb, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 20 Feb, 2024 Editor invited by journal 20 Feb, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 20 Feb, 2024 First submitted to journal 24 Jan, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3895247","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":274072804,"identity":"0d55778c-26f9-415e-aca3-d5a2a31a7978","order_by":0,"name":"Josh Barkby","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Nottingham Trent University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Josh","middleName":"","lastName":"Barkby","suffix":""},{"id":274072805,"identity":"42cec66f-9cf3-4e59-a400-14ddc189719b","order_by":1,"name":"Fabrizio Moro","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of 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