Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 February 2011
To understand gettering action we have modeled the diffusion of metal to a backside getter. A first order model describing the diffusion of metals to an infinite backside sink is found not to fit experimental data. To fit the data for phosphorus gettering at 1000°C and argon implantation gettering at 800°C it is necessary to also hypothesize the injection of silicon interstitials. Assuming that the diffusion of the silicon interstitials is the rate limiting step in gettering, allows one to extract the diffusion coefficient and equilibrium concentration of the interstitial. The hypothesis of silicon interstitial injection agrees with recent work on phosphorus diffusion by Fahey et. al. To test this hypothesis for heavily damaged regions we have looked at the effect of an argon implanted region on the diffusion of a phosphorus buried layer. At both 800°C and 700°C, during nitrogen anneals we see significant enhancement of the phosphorus diffusion.