The holes induced by ionizing radiation or carrier injection can depassivate saturated interface defects. The depassivation of these defects suggests that the deep levels associated with the defects are reactivated, affecting the performance of devices. This work simulates the depassivation reactions between holes and passivated amorphous-SiO2/Si interface defects (HPb + h → Pb + H+). The climbing image nudged elastic band method is used to calculate the reaction curves and the barriers. In addition, the atomic charges of the initial and final structures are analyzed by the Bader charge method. It is shown that more than one hole is trapped by the defects, which is implied by the reduction in the total number of valence electrons on the active atoms. The results indicate that the depassivation of the defects by the holes actually occurs in three steps. In the first step, a hole is captured by the passivated defect, resulting in the stretching of the Si–H bond. In the second step, the defect captures one more hole, which may contribute to the breaking of the Si–H bond. The H atom is released as a proton and the Si atom is three-coordinated and positively charged. In the third step, an electron is captured by the Si atom, and the Si atom becomes neutral. In this step, a Pb-type defect is reactivated.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.