Oxygen and Carbon Defect Characterization In Silicon by Sims

Abstract

ABSTRACTOxygen and carbon aggregation in silicon after thermal processing can be characterized using SIMS profiles and SIMS imaging. Fluctuations in the oxygen SIMS signal during the profile have been correlated with the change in interstitial oxygen after thermal processing as measured by FTIR and the precipitate size as measured by TEM. In cases where precipitation is known to be the cause of impurity clustering, a computer program for simulating the profiling process allows semi-quantitative characterization of precipitates as a function of depth. The use of a Resistive Anode Encoder on a CAMECA IMS-3f coupled with image enhancement can be used to image oxygen and carbon related defects. Examples of this technique are given by imaging oxygen aggregation and the co-aggregation of oxygen and carbon in thermally-processed Czochralski-silicon.