Conparison of Neutron and 2 MeV Electron Damage in N-Type Silicon by Deep-Level Transient Spectroscopy

Damage produced in n-type silicon by neutron irradiation at room temperature was studied by deeplevel transient spectroscopy (DLTS) and compared with 2 MeV electron damage. The similarities and differences between neutron and electron damage were shown. It was found that point defect character predominated even in the neutron case as far as the DLTS measurements are concerned, and that the same defects as those in the electron case, i. e., the A center, E center and divacancy, were produced by room temperature neutron irradiation. However, the production of the divacancy was important in the neutron damage, while the production of the A center was important in the electron damage. This was attributed to the difference of the energy of the primary knock-ons between neutron and electron irradiation. The formation of several defects during annealing in neutron irradiated n-type silicon was reported also.