Incorporation of highly concentrated iron impurities in InP by high temperature ion implantation

Iron was introduced in InP by ion implantation with the aim of obtaining a high concentration of substitutional, electrically active, deep level impurities. A substrate temperature higher than 200 degreesC was maintained during implantation in order to reduce damage accumulation and Fe defect reactions. The lattice position of the implanted Fe atoms and its modification during annealing treatments was studied by means of Proton Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) in channeling conditions and correlated with the ion induced damage measured by different techniques. The results show that a high fraction of substitutional Fe atoms is present after the implantation. This fraction is progressively reduced during thermal treatments by increasing the annealing temperature, with the formation of inactive Fe aggregates, probably in the form of small Fe-P complexes.