Electric fields in nonhomogeneously doped silicon. Summary of simulations

Variations of the doping concentration inside a silicon device result in electric field distortions. These distortions, “parasitic” fields, have been observed in Silicon Drift Detectors [D. Nouais, et al., Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A 501 (2003) 119; E. Crescio, et al., Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A 539 (2005) 250]. Electric fields inside a silicon device can be calculated for a given doping profile. In this study, the ATLAS device simulator. [Silvaco International, 4701 Patrick Henry Drive, Bldg.2, Santa Clara, CA 95054, USA 〈 http://www.silvaco.com/ 〉 and 〈 http://www.silvaco.com/products/device_simulation/atlas.html 〉 ] was used to calculate the electric field inside an inhomogeneously doped device. Simulations were performed for 1D periodic doping profiles. Results show strong dependence of the parasitic field strength on the ‘smoothness’ of the doping profile.