Formation of Fe-i-Bpairs in silicon at high temperatures

We report on the detection of Fe-i-B pairs in heavily B doped silicon using Fe-57 emission Mossbauer spectroscopy following implantation of radioactive Mn-57(+) parent ions (T-1/2 = 1.5 min) at elevated temperatures > 850 K. The Fe-i-B pairs are formed upon the dissociation of Fe-i-V pairs during the lifetime of the Mossbauer state (T-1/2 = 100 ns). The resulting free interstitial Fe-i diffuses over sufficiently large distances during the lifetime of the Mossbauer state to encounter a substitutional B impurity atom, forming Fe-i-B pairs, which are stable up to similar to 1,050 K on that time scale.