Denuded zone and diffusion length investigation by electron beam induced current technique in intrinsically gettered Czochralski silicon

Electron beam induced current (EBIC) technique is successfully used to characterize intrinsically gettered Czochralski silicon. The impact of three different sequences of thermal treatments, typically used in ultralarge scale integration device manufacturing, on the denuded zone (DZ) formation and oxygen precipitation in the bulk is evaluated. EBIC technique is applied in a nonstandard configuration, where a Schottky diode is evaporated on the wafer cross section, for the direct observation of the DZ and oxygen related defects in the silicon bulk. The reduction of minority carrier diffusion length, due to the formation of recombination centers after oxygen precipitation, is also estimated by EBIC in planar collector geometry. The DZ determination by EBIC technique is in good agreement with surface photovoltage measurements and microscopical inspections after chemical etching. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics