METHOD FOR THE PREPARATION OF A SILICON WAFER HAVING STABILIZED OXYGEN PRECIPITATES

摘要

The process relates to a process for nucleating and growing oxygen precipitates in a silicon wafer. The process includes subjecting a wafer having a non-uniform concentration of crystal lattice vacancies with the concentration of vacancies in the bulk layer being greater than the concentration of vacancies in the surface layer to a non-isothermal heat treatment to form of a denuded zone in the surface layer and to cause the formation and stabilization of oxygen precipitates having an effective radial size 0.5 nm to 30 nm in the bulk layer. The process optionally includes subjecting the stabilized wafer to a high temperature thermal process (e.g. epitaxial deposition, rapid thermal oxidation, rapid thermal nitridation and etc.) at temperatures in the range of 1000°C to 1275 C without causing the dissolution of the stabilized oxygen precipitates.