Nitrogen in Czochralski silicon

Abstract

Nitrogen is an interesting element in Czochralski (CZ) silicon used for microelectronic industry. In recent, nitrogen has attracted much attention due to its influence on microdefects, intrinsic gettering and mechanical strength in the larger diameter CZ silicon, This paper gives a review of nitrogen in CZ silicon which has an effect on the mechanical and electrical properties of silicon material and devices. The basic behavior of nitrogen in CZ silicon, such as doping techniques, diffusion coefficient et al, is introduced. It is indicated that nitrogen can lock the movement of dislocations so as to increase to mechanical strength. It is also reported that nitrogen interacts with oxygen, generates nitrogen-oxygen complexes and enhance the nucleation of oxygen precipitation. Moreover, the effect of nitrogen on void defects and intrinsic gettering is described. Finally, the mechanism of N-O complex formation and elimination will be also discussed.