Dependence of electrically detected magnetic resonance signal shape from iron-contaminated silicon wafers on the thermal treatment of the samples

Abstract

The shape of the electrically detected magnetic resonance (EDMR) signal from iron–contaminated Czochralski-grown silicon (CZ–Si) samples strongly depends on the thermal treatments applied to the samples before and after the contamination procedure, although the average g-value of the spectra apparently does not vary. A signal from an iron-contaminated float-zone grown silicon (FZ–Si) sample was detected employing an EDMR signal detection unit with enhanced sensitivity. For similar contamination levels, the signal from the FZ–Si sample has amplitude about 145 that of the CZ–Si signal and has specific shape. Further study of the EDMR signals from iron-contaminated Si samples will be useful for the investigation of gettering and recombination processes in Si wafers. Besides that, dependence of the EDMR spectrum shape on the thermal processes employed can help to pinpoint the process responsible for wafer contamination during semiconductor device fabrication.