The goal of this research is to elucidate the hydrogen microstructure surrounding passivated defects on crystalline semiconductors employing nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Quantitative NMR measurements characterizing hydrogen surrounding passivated defects in silicon and also bulk molecular hydrogen in bulk silicon will be made. Studies will be initiated with the boron-hydrogen complex in heavily doped silicon and then extended to other dopants such as aluminum, gallium and indium, and could eventually lead to studies of dopants in germanium. Proton and other nuclei's NMR parameters such as quadrupolar couplings, chemical shifts, dipolar oscillations, and relaxation times will be determined and related to site symmetries, electric field gradients, bond lengths, and atomic mobilities at low and elevated temperatures. These results will be important in understanding the role of hydrogen in semiconductor processing and in confirming theoretical models and calculations of passivation phenomena.
