Diffusion

Dr. Rohan Gupta

A.P,ECE
 Diffusion
• Impurities introduced in to selected region of
semiconductor
• Dopant atoms introduced in many ways
• Diffusion from chemical source in to vapor form at
high temperature
• Diffusion from doped oxide source
• Diffusion from ion implanted layer
• 900 to 1100 degree centigrade
• Melting point of silicon is 1420 degree centigrade
• Rate at which impurities diffuse is of order of
1 micrometer per hour
• Penetration depth of order of 0.3 to 30
micrometer
• Diffusion process slow at room temperature
• Use of selective masking makes possible wide
variety of devices available in form of ICs
 Diffusion in solids
• Diffusion mechanisms
• Crystal structure plays important role
• Wandering of impurity takes place
 Substitutional Diffusion
• At high temperature atoms move out of lattice
site
• Impurity occupies position in crystal after it is
cooled
• Replacing silicon atom by impurity atom
• Applicable to diffusants such as boron,
phosphorus and arsenic
Substitutional Diffusion
• Impurity atom has to overcome energy barrier
• Jump rate is very slow at ordinary
temperature
• Diffusion rate can be speeded up by increase
in temperature
• 1000 degree centigrade
 Interstitial Diffusion
• Impurity atoms do not replace but moves
• Gold, copper and silver
• Gold is used to increase speed of digital ICs
• Void is big enough to contain impurity atom
• Impurity atom located in one void can move to
neighboring void
Interstitial Diffusion
• Diffusion rate slow at room temperature
• 1000 degree centigrade
• Diffusion rate greater than substitutional
diffusion
• Long term stability can not be achieved with
Lithium
Interstitial-substitutional Diffusion
• Impurity atoms occupy substitutional as well
as interstitial sites
• Move at significant rate
• Dissociative mechanism by which
substitutional impurity atom can become
interstitial leaving behind vacancy can be
controlling factor for this process
• Copper and Nickel
Interstitial-substitutional Diffusion
Kick out Mechanism
 Interstitialcy Diffusion
• Modified version of substitutional diffusion
• Pushing substituionally located impurity atom
in to interstitial sites
• Diffuse to adjacent substitutional sites and
create new self interstitials
• Boron and phosphorous
Interstitialcy Diffusion
 Combinational Diffusion
• Fraction diffuse substantially and rest
interstitially
• Movement of impurities and not ultimate
destination
• It is possible that some may end in
substitutional sites and others in interstitial
sites