Precipitation of oxygen at 485 °C: Direct evidence for accelerated diffusion of oxygen in silicon?

Abstract

Prolonged annealing of Czochralski silicon at 485°C leads to the formation of a number of defects which is accompanied by a reduction in the concentration of oxygen interstitials in the matrix. High-resolution electron microscopy has been used to investigate the structure of these defects which are basically of three types: (1) ribbonlike, (2) looplike defects which result in local lattice strains and hence are also visible in conventional transmission electron microscopy, and (3) dark regions visible in high-resolution micrographs with no lattice strains. Based on image characteristics and a comparison of the reduction in interstitial oxygen, from infrared spectroscopy, with the sizes of the ribbons, estimated from high-resolution micrographs, it is proposed that the ribbonlike defects are, in fact, the coesite phase which forms at prolonged anneals of the same material at the higher temperatures of 630–650°C. Using a simple model for the diffusion of oxygen to ribbons, the diffusivity of oxygen in silicon is estimated to be enhanced by nearly four orders of magnitude at 485°C! It is proposed that the looplike defects are extrinsic Frank loops which act as sinks for the interstitial silicon ejected during the oxygen precipitation. The fading away of the dark regions under electron irradiation in the microscope suggests that they are agglomerates of point defects.