Advanced Physical Research

An experimental study was carried out to investigate the influence of cooling rate after high-temperature annealing on the structural and electrophysical properties of zirconium-doped p- and n-type silicon prepared by the diffusion method. Raman and FTIR spectroscopy were employed to assess crystalline quality, defect-related disorder, and oxygen-related bonding environments associated with zirconium incorporation. Electrophysical parameters, including resistivity (ρ), carrier concentration (n), and mobility (µ), were measured using the Hall method at 300 K. Rapid cooling was found to promote the preservation of electrically active zirconium-related states, resulting in reduced resistivity and enhanced carrier concentration and mobility, whereas slow cooling favors defect equilibration and structural stabilization. Arrhenius analysis of resistivity yielded shallow donor activation energies of approximately 0:05-0:06 eV, consistent with donor-like states introduced by zirconium. The temperature dependence of carrier mobility exhibits a weak sensitivity to temperature, indicative of scattering-limited transport rather than thermally activated carrier motion. Optimal processing conditions-annealing at approximately 1100 ⁰C followed by rapid cooling-yield minimum resistivity (ρ≈ 2 Ω · cm) and high mobility (µ ≈900 cm²/V·s). These results demonstrate the potential of zirconium-modified silicon for thermally stable sensor structures and microelectronic applications.