Study on the mechanism of second phase formation in high-purity fused silica materials for semiconductor application

Abstract

Gas bubble is a common defect in high-purity fused silica materials, but the formation of the second phase particles related to gas bubble and its mechanism remain unclear till now. In this work, we have presented a method for characterization of colored gas bubbles in high-purity fused silica crucibles for Czochralski silicon by the means of TEM and EDX. Based on it, the origin of the coloring of the gas bubbles is demonstrated to be induced by the gathering of Fe impurity and then, the formation of high-density second phase—ferric oxide (Fe2O3) crystals around the gas bubbles. Moreover, our results provide insight into the formation mechanism of second phase crystals which can be induced by stress field variations around gas bubbles during the cooling process that probably promoted by volume shrinkage effect and increasing solubility of gas from gas bubbles into fused silica substrate. The understanding of the second phase particle formation mechanism in high-purity fused silica materials is valuable for its further controlling.