Influence of Cooling Rate on Structural and Electrophysical Changes in Zirconium-Doped Silicon (Si + Zr)

Abstract

This research investigates the influence of cooling rate after annealing in temperature range 700–1200 °C during 12 hours on the structural and electrophysical properties of p- and n-type silicon doped with zirconium by the diffusion method. Raman and FTIR spectroscopy were used to characterize crystallinity, defect states, and the evolution of Zr–O–Si phases, while Hall measurements at 300 K provided the key electrical parameters (ρ, n, μ). Rapid post-annealing quenching was found to stabilize metastable donor configurations, thereby reducing resistivity and increasing carrier concentration and mobility, whereas slow cooling promoted recrystallization and structural relaxation. Arrhenius analyses (ln ρ and ln n vs. 1/T) indicated the presence of shallow donor levels of about 0.05–0.06 eV. These results identify annealing near 1100 °C followed by rapid cooling as the optimal regime for achieving high-mobility, low-resistivity Si-based structures suitable for thermally robust sensor and microelectronic applications.