Hydrogen-induced platelets in silicon studied by transmission electron microscopy

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Abstract
The structure of hydrogen-induced platelets (HIPs) in silicon has been examined with conventional transmission electron microscopy (CTEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Hrtem was utilized to clarify the atomic structure in which hydrogen atoms are assumed to saturate the broken bonds between adjacent (111) planes. The structural model was refined by introducing a reliability factor in real space for quantitative comparison between experimental and simulated images. Some contrast variations in HRTEM images can be well explained by allowing for atomic ledges on the (111) plane with broken bonds. Furthermore it is found from the strain contrast in a CTEM image that a considerable amount of H2 gas is contained in the open space of the HIP, which results in an internal pressure as large as 1 GPa. The formation process of Hips is discussed.