Recombination properties of structurally well defined NiSi2 precipitates in silicon

Abstract
We report first results on the recombination properties of structurally well defined NiSi2 precipitates in n‐type silicon. Under the conditions applied, precipitates form without the occurrence of punched out dislocations or any other secondary defects. We find that the minority‐carrier diffusion length (LD) measured by electron beam induced current (EBIC) is related to the precipitate density NV and LD ≂ 0.7 × NV1/3. EBIC investigations of individual precipitates reveal contrasts up to 40% demonstrating NiSi2 particles to be efficient recombination centers.