Effect of Crystal Pulling Rate on Formation of Crystal-Originated “Particles” on Si Wafers

Abstract

It was recently revealed that singularities (crystal-originated “particles”) formed on Si wafers after SC1 cleaning originate from some defects in crystals and were perceived by laser particle counters. In this paper, the size distribution of crystal-originated “particles” is examined in detail by means of repeated SC1 cleanings. It is shown that, as the crystal pulling rate becomes faster, the size distribution of crystal-originated “particles” shifts toward smaller size, and the total number of origins of crystal-originated “particles” increases.