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 char acterize intrinsically gettered Czochralski silicon. The impact of three di fferent sequences of thermal treatments, typically used in ultralarge scale integration device manufacturing, on the denuded zone (DZ) formation and o xygen precipitation in the bulk is evaluated. EBIC technique is applied in a nonstandard configuration, where a Schottky diode is evaporated on the wa fer cross section, for the direct observation of the DZ and oxygen related defects in the silicon bulk. The reduction of minority carrier diffusion le ngth, due to the formation of recombination centers after oxygen precipitat ion, is also estimated by EBIC in planar collector geometry. The DZ determi nation by EBIC technique is in good agreement with surface photovoltage mea surements and microscopical inspections after chemical etching. (C) 1999 Am erican Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(99)02002-2].