Formation of Copper Impurity-Defect Complexes and Their Impact on Electrical Properties of Silicon

Nature and types of structural defects in the p-type silicon doped with copper are determined by the methods of infrared microscopy and measuring of the specific resistivity, concentration, and lifetime (τ) of charge carriers. It is found that the value of τ is increased and stabilized due to the formation of a trap level associated with the “copper-oxygen” complex [Cu-O] in silicon. It is shown that the copper atoms migrate from a saturated dislocation to the volume of lightly doped silicon during slow cooling after high-temperature diffusion, which is associated with the decomposition of the Si–Cu solid solution.