The electrical activity of the stacking faults which were associated with O precipitation in Czochralski-grown crystals was studied by using the electron beam-induced current technique. Stacking fault planes which were parallel to the surface were found to be beam-induced current-active only below 100K, while the bounding Frank partial dislocations were active up to 200K. Stacking fault planes which were inclined by angles of more than 15° to the surface did not exhibit any beam-induced current contrast; even at temperatures below 100K. It was suggested that the stacking fault planes acted as potential barriers to carrier diffusion rather than as carrier recombination centers. The barrier height of the stacking faults was estimated to be 0.055eV.

T.Sekiguchi, B.Shen, T.Watanabe, K.Sumino: Materials Science and Engineering B, 1996, 42[1-3], 235-9