Interaction of gold with dislocations in silicon

Dislocation-gold interactions in FZ p-Si were studied both by Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy (DLTS) and Electron Beam Induced Current (EBIC). It is shown that they are rather complex processes including direct and indirect interactions. The first one consists in gettering of gold with a formation of precipitates at dislocations inducing a depletion region around them. The second one consists in gold redistribution determined by an enhancement of self-interstitial annihilation, which in turn stimulates the kick-out reaction in regions adjacent to dislocations. The final gold distribution is a result of the competition between these two processes and is shown to depend on annealing and cooling conditions.