Book Description

This proceedings volume contains oral and poster contributions from a symposium on "Defects in Electronic Materials" at the combined meeting of the Materials Research Society (MRS) and the International Conference on Electronic Materials (ICEM) in December, 1996, in Boston. The volume comprises the areas of defects in group III-V, and wide bandgap semiconductors. The symposium was planned to represent the general field of defects in electronic materials, with a focus on issues that are currently widely discussed. The pervasive role of defects in determining the thermal, mechanical, electrical, optical and magnetic properties of materials is significant. The knowledge of generation and control of defects in electronic materials has contributed to the success of these materials. Developing novel semiconductor materials requires new insights into the role of defects to achieve new properties. New experimental techniques have to be developed to study defects in small structures, This proceedings volume provides a vivid picture of the current problems, progress and methods in defect studies in electronic materials. Of most interest were the sessions on new techniques in defect studies and on process-induced defects in Si and GaAs. Papers on new techniques addressed the issues of surface defects, defects in small dimensions and the detection of near-surface defects in Si. In process-induced defects, three areas received significant attention, Plasma processes in Si and GaAs produce defective layers. Many papers deal with the understanding of these defects. Grown-in defects are widely studied because of their deteriorating effect on the gate-oxide integrity (GOI). These defects were identified as octahedral voids in as-grown silicon. Another recurring issue is gettering of metallic impurities to prevent contamination during processing.