Comment on 'Neutralization of Shallow Acceptor Levels in Silicon by Atomic Hydrogen' by J. I. Pankove, D. E. Carlson, J. E. Berkeyheiser, and R. O. Wance.

The de-activation of electrically active shallow levels due to boron in silicon by reaction with atomic hydrogen has recently been reported. This could have significant impact on device processing as exposure to hydrogen-containing plasmas or high temperature annealing in H2 could lead to modification of the dopant profile in p-type silicon. However, the evidence presented in the initial experiment was far from conclusive. The object of this memorandum is to point out the deficiencies in the interpretation of that experiment.