Correlation Between Oxygen Precipitation and Extended Defects in Czochralski Silicon: Investigation by Means of Scanning Infrared Microscopy

Through an investigation of oxygen precipitation and extended defects in Czochralski silicon (CZ-Si) specimens subjected to different isothermal anneals, by scanning infrared microscopy and preferential etching combined with optical microscopy, the correlation between the sizes of oxygen precipitates and the generation of extended defects is revealed. It is found that extended defects are generated when oxygen precipitates grow. Afterward, the sizes of extended defects increase, while those of oxygen precipitates do not change significantly. For the onset of the generation of extended defects, we define the maximum size of oxygen precipitates as a critical size for the generation of extended defects. Moreover, it is revealed that this critical size decreases for higher annealing temperatures or more oxidizing ambients.