On the production of paramagnetic defects in silicon by electron irradiation

Monocrystalline silicon samples of different impurity contents have been irradiated with 1.5 MeV electrons in order to produce divacancies in their negative charge state. In these samples different combinations of defects have been observed with electron paramagnetic resonance. The conditions for production and observation of these defects are compared. For two new EPR spectra, labelled (Si-) NL11 and (Si-) NL12, the spin Hamiltonian parameters are reported. For NL11, which arises from an S = 1 spin state, the obvious identification with the neutral charge state of the divacancy can not be confirmed.