Silicon interstitial generation by argon implantation

In this letter we show that damaged layers in silicon created by argon implantation act as a source of silicon interstitials. This effect is shown to cause orders of magnitude increase in the diffusion coefficient of phosphorus at temperatures less than 800 °C. This creation of interstitials is shown to be long lasting. The value of this is discussed in understanding the role of point defects on dopant diffusion.