Behaviours of Thermally Induced Microdefects in Heavily Doped Silicon Wafers

Abstract

Thermally induced microdefects in heavily doped silicon wafers are investigated. It has been shown that the generation of thermally induced microdefects is strongly affected by the type and concentration of dopants, and that microdefects necessary for intrinsic gettering are not easily generated in heavily doped n-type wafers. To generate the microdefects in heavily doped n-type wafers, an improved heat treatment procedure is developed. The observed results are discussed in terms of the difference of point defect density between p- and n-type wafers.