Silicon Wafer Defect Self-Characterization with CCD Image Sensors

Abstract

AbstractToday's CCD image sensors can provide very high image quality. However, used as a tool, they can also provide a sensitive window into defects in silicon, either intrinsic to the starting wafers or introduced during fabrication. In this paper, we examine some cases of known silicon defects and show how they can appear in, and be studied by, CCD imagers. As examples, we discuss epi-layer defects, slip defects, and dark-current rings.