Radiation induced defects in SiO2

Cathodoexcitation in the study of silicon dioxide films on silicon substrate has evealed many interesting properties of luminescence centers. The main luminescent enters in SiO2 films are the red luminescence R (1.85 eV) of the non-bridging oxygen hole enter (NBOHC) and the twofold- coordinated (divalent) silicon with a blue B (2.7 eV) and a UV band (4.4 eV). Especially the latter ones are produced under irradiation, but from existing precursors.
Morimoto et al. concluded that the blue luminescence (B) is related to interstitial oxygen. Therefore, in the present paper we want to compare a direct oxygen implantation with a direct silicon implantation into SiO2 layers producing an oxygen surplus in the first case and an oxygen deficit in the second case, respectively.
Thermally grown SiO2 layers of thicknesses d = 500 nm have been implanted by Si+ and O+ ions of energy 150 and 100 keV, respectively, and a uniform implantation dose of Di = 5 . 1016 ions/cm2. Thus the implantation profiles are expected with a concentration maximum of nearly 4 at% at the half depth dm 250 nm of the SiO2 layers. After thermal annealing to 900 oC for 1 hour in vacuum the typical red and blue luminescence bands are increased.
Generally we may state: Implanting oxygen increases the red band R (? =650 nm) but does not affect the blue band B (? = 460 nm). Silicon surplus increases the amplitude of the blue (B) luminescence, but reduces the amplitude of the red (R) one.
Studying the irradiation dose dependence of these blue and red bands we have established defect kinetics in SiO2 including six main defects and precursors, so the non-bridging oxygen hole center (NBOHC) for the red luminescence, the twofold coordinated silicon as the oxygen deficient center ODC2 for the blue luminescence and the mobile oxygen as the main transmitter between precursors and the radiation induced defects. The kinetics is described by a set of eight differential equations which predict the dose dependence of the cathodoluminescence. The experimental CL dose dependences of the red (R) and blue (B) luminescence intensities are in a good agreement with the calculated ones according to the model.