The Effect of Carbon on the Precipitation of Oxygen in Czochralski Silicon

Abstract

ABSTRACTResearchers in both the U. S. and Japan have reported that carbon impurities can significantly alter the precipitation of oxygen in CZ silicon. We have employed FTIR, x-ray topography and TEM to study this phenomenon in silicon containing < 2 × 1016 C cm−3 or 1.3 × 1017 C cm−3. A single step anneal of 16 hours at 1000°C will cause oxygen precipitation to occur in the high carbon material, while a 32 hour pre-anneal at 600°C is necessary for precipitation in the low carbon material. If a single anneal of 120 hours at 750°C is used, light precipitation occurs in both types of material. A pre-anneal of 15 minutes at 1000°C followed by 120 hours at 750°C reduces precipitation in the high carbon material only slightly, but completely eliminates precipitation in the low carbon material. It can be concluded that carbon causes heterogeneous nucleation of oxygen precipitation in CZ silicon and it is proposed that it does so by lowering the interfacial energy of the precipitates.