Experiments on the intrinsic gettering of Cr in p-type Czochralski-grown Si including lamp pulse annealings have been carried out. Transmission Electron Microscopy observations of both oxide and metallic precipitates on cross-sectional specimens, as well as quantitative results about the electrically active metal depth-profiles, using Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy measurements, are presented. We have observed that a lamp pulse (1200 °C/5 s) applied prior to a three-step gettering cycle produced a strong retardation of the oxygen precipitation, and consequently an inhibition of the Cr bulk precipitation during the nucleation step. Besides, it was observed that the Cr-precipitates formed in the bulk during the oxygen nucleation step were highly unstable upon a post-gettering 2–4 s lamp pulse at 1000 °C, whereas the same lamp pulse did not produce a significant re-dissolution of Cr-precipitates formed during the oxide precipitate growth step. The reversibility of the intrinsic gettering of Cr upon a post-gettering lamp pulse thus critically depends on the oxide precipitate growth rate during the gettering process.
The interaction of lamp pulses with the internal gettering of chromium (Cr) in Czochralski-grown silicon (St) has been studied by deep level transient spectroscopy profiling of the electrically active Cr concentration on beveled samples. B-doped Si wafers were submitted to various sequences of thermal treatments consisting in different combinations of Cr diffusion, gettering treatments (high-low-high or high-low), and lamp pulse annealings. An inhibition of the internal gettering mechanism was observed whenever Cr was diffused in a lamp furnace before gettering, or when a lamp pulse was applied before Cr diffusion in a quartz tube furnace. In addition,the stability of the Cr precipitates, formed inside the wafer after internal gettering, was found to depend significantly on the gettering temperature. These results were consistently explained in the framework of the "oxygen precipitation" gettering model, taking into account the two basic requirements of efficient denuded zone formation by oxygen nucleation, and further oxygen precipitate growth rate enhancement of the metal precipitation.
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