Effects of Thermal History on Microdefect Formation in Czochralski Silicon Crystals

Abstract

The mechanism of formation of microdefects in Czochralski silicon crystals is investigated, with particular attention to the effects of the thermal history in the growth process on the nucleation and growth of oxygen precipitates. The density and size of the nuclei of oxygen precipitates in the asgrown state of a crystal subjected to a special thermal history are analyzed in detail. The behaviors of the nuclei at various temperature ranges of the thermal history are then discussed on the basis of these analyses.