Formation of Binary Compounds of Impurity Atoms of Sulfur and Zinc in Silicon

Abstract

The paper presents the information on thermodynamic conditions and describes process stages required in order to form binary zinc-and-sulfur (ZnS) elementary cells in single-crystalline silicon while doping it with impurity atoms of group II and VI elements, i.e., zinc and sulfur, respectively. The thermodynamic conditions that ensure shaping of such elementary cells in silicon have been established. It has also been revealed that, before the formation of binary compound (consisting of zinc and sulfur atoms) nanoclusters, those chemical elements may have been present in the silicon matrix in the form of separately located atoms or various natural compounds. It is supposed that it might be possible to engineer previously unknown silicon-based materials with unique fundamental properties by applying the technique of assembling elementary cells and binary compounds of the ZnS type with preset concentrations. Using a scanning tunneling microscope, it was possible to determine the elemental composition of binary compounds that were formed in the matrix and on the surface of a silicon sample. An analysis of the results of the above experiments showed that binary compounds of the ZnS type are possibly formed in the Si crystalline sample characterized by new electrophysical parameters.