Intrinsic Point Defects in Silicon Crystal Growth
| Periodical | Solid State Phenomena (Volumes 178 - 179) |
|---|---|
| Main Theme | Gettering and Defect Engineering in Semiconductor Technology XIV |
| Edited by | W. Jantsch and F. Schäffler |
| Pages | 3-14 |
| DOI | 10.4028/www.scientific.net/SSP.178-179.3 |
| Citation | Vladimir V. Voronkov et al., 2011, Solid State Phenomena, 178-179, 3 |
| Online since | August, 2011 |
| Authors | Vladimir V. Voronkov, Robert Falster |
| Keywords | Oxygen, Self-Interstitial, Silicon, Vacancy, Void |
| Price | US$ 28,- |
In dislocation-free silicon, intrinsic point defects – either vacancies or self-interstitials, depending on the growth conditions - are incorporated into a growing crystal. Their incorporated concentration is relatively low (normally, less than 1014 cm-3 - much lower than the concentration of impurities). In spite of this, they play a crucial role in the control of the structural properties of silicon materials. Modern silicon crystals are grown mostly in the vacancy mode and contain many vacancy-based agglomerates. At typical grown-in vacancy concentrations the dominant agglomerates are voids, while at lower vacancy concentrations there are different populations of joint vacancy-oxygen agglomerates (oxide plates). Larger plates – formed in a narrow range of vacancy concentration and accordingly residing in a narrow spatial band – are responsible for the formation of stacking fault rings in oxidized wafers. Using advanced crystal growth techniques, whole crystals can be grown at such low concentrations of vacancies or self-interstitials such that they can be considered as perfect.
