Structure of the boron-hydrogen complex in crystalline silicon

The lattice site occupied by the boron and hydrogen atoms in hydrogenated crystalline silicon is investigated by use of ion channeling and nuclear-reaction analysis. After hydrogenation, boron atoms are found to be displaced from substitutional sites. Analysis of the data indicates that the shift is 0.220.04. The hydrogen atoms are found to preferentially occupy the bond-center site. These findings are consistent with a structure for the boron-hydrogen complex in which the hydrogen atom occupies a site between a silicon and a boron atom, while the boron atom relaxes back towards a threefold-coordinated position. The data are compared with recent predictions of the structure of the B-H complex in silicon. © 1987 The American Physical Society.