1 Diffusion Engineering by Carbon in Silicon

The possibility to suppress undesirable diffusion of the base dopant boron in silicon-based bipolar transistor structures by the incorporation of a high concentration of carbon has lead to renewed interest in the behavior of carbon in crystalline silicon. The present paper will review essential features of carbon in silicon including solubility, diffusion mechanisms and precipitation behavior. Based on this information the possibilities to use carbon to influence diffusion of dopants in silicon by the introduction of non-equilibrium concentrations of intrinsic point defects will be discussed as well as the reason for the relatively high resilience against carbon precipitation. Interactions between carbon and oxygen will be mentioned, especially in the context of an as yet unexplained fast out-diffusion of carbon close to the surface