Blistering and splitting in hydrogen-implanted silicon

We implanted hydrogen in silicon with energies ranging from 500 keV to 2 MeV for implant depths varying from 6.1 to 48.4 μn according to TRIM (transport of ions in matter) 2003. After implantation, a 600 °C thermal annealing was applied to all samples. It is found that for depths lower than 9 μm there is no lift-off of a free-standing silicon layer; only a blistering phenomenon is seen. Increase in the implanted dose or thermal budget does not improve the situation. However, for depths ≥ 9 μm (9 - 50 μm in this study) thermal annealing results in effective detachment of ultra-thin free-standing layers. This technique hence provides high quality thin Si layers for semiconductor technology.