Dislocations in Si generated by fatigue at room temperature

Dislocations in silicon can be generated in many ways, and they often induc e a leakage current at the p-n junction and give rise to data retention fai lures of the semiconductor devices. In this study, it was found that disloc ations could be generated in silicon even at room temperature by fatigue. T he dislocations generated in a semiconductor device were investigated by tr ansmission electron microscopy. They formed a cluster 3 mum in diameter, wh ich emerged from the interface between the silicon substrate and a tungsten stud. Most of the dislocations were lying on the (1 1 1) planes. It was di scovered that cyclic deformation of the device by ultrasonic vibration duri ng the cleaning process generated these dislocations. (C) 2001 Elsevier Sci ence Ltd. All rights reserved.