Study of point- and cluster-defects in radiation-damaged silicon

Abstract

Non-ionising energy loss of radiation produces point defects and defect clusters in silicon, which result in a signifcant degradation of sensor performance. In this contribution results from TSC (Thermally Stimulated Current) defect spectroscopy for silicon pad diodes irradiated by electrons to fluences of a few $10^{14}$ cm$^{-2}$ and energies between 3.5 and 27 MeV for isochronal annealing between 80 and 280°C, are presented. A method based on SRH (Shockley-Read-Hall) statistics is introduced, which assumes that the ionisation energy of the defects in a cluster depends on the fraction of occupied traps. The dfference of ionisation energy of an isolated point defect and a fully occupied cluster, $ΔE_a$, is extracted from the TSC data. For the VOi (vacancy-oxygen interstitial) defect $ΔE_a = 0$ is found, which cofirms that it is a point defect, and validates the method for point defects. For clusters made of deep acceptors the $ΔE_a$ values for different defects are determined after annealing at 80°C as a function of electron energy, and for the irradiation with 15 MeV electrons as a function of annealing temperature. For the irradiation with 3.5 MeV electrons the value $ΔE_a = 0$ is found, whereas for the electron energies of 6 to 27 MeV $ΔE_a > 0$. This agrees with the expected threshold of about 5 MeV for cluster formation by electrons. The $ΔE_a$ values determined as a function of annealing temperature show that the annealing rate is different for different defects. A naive diffusion model is used to estimate the temperature dependencies of the diffusion of the defects in the clusters.