《Effect of carbon on oxygen precipitation in silicon》.pdf

Effect of carbon on oxygen precipitation in silicon Q. Sun,a) K. H. Yao,b) J. Lagowski, and H. C. Gatos Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (Received 16 October 1989; accepted for publication 15 January 1990) A systematic Fourier-transformed infrared-spectroscopy study of oxygen and carbon in isolated form and as complexes in the silicon lattice has revealed a direct correlation between the decrease of substitutional carbon concentration and the decrease of interstitial oxygen concentration during 750°C annealing. At a concentration exceeding 2 ppma (parts per million atomic percentage), carbon was also found to enhance oxide precipitate growth. After completing a three-step annealing (1100·C + 750·C + 1000 ·C), an oxide-precipitate-related IR-absorption band was observed. The changes of the IR-absorption band were correlated with annealing-induced changes in the state of carbon. A direct incorporation of carbon into oxide precipitates, and/or carbon interaction with silicon self-interstitials generated during oxygen precipitation, are suggested to have an effect on reducing lattice strain associated with the oxygen-precipitation process. I. INTRODUCTION II. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES Oxygen and carbon are unintentional impurities in Si CZ-Si crystals with intentionally doped carbon impuri- crystals grown by the Czochralski (CZ) method. They have ty varying from 5 to 30 ppm a (ASTM 81) and initial oxygen been extensively studied in conjunction with heat treatments concentration from 1 to 22 ppm a (ASTM 80) were em- used in device processing. 1-4 Each of these impu