Early stages of oxygen aggregation and thermal donors in silicon annealed under hydrostatic pressure

Thermal donor formation in Czochralski-grown silicon heat treated at T=450 degreesC under hydrostatic pressure is investigated by means of optical and electrical measurements. It has been shown that oxygen agglomeration proce sses in stressed Cz-Si lead to an enhanced formation of the well-known ther mal double donors. This effect is believed to be due to increasing oxygen d iffusivity under stress. Some important differences between the formation p rocesses in Cz-Si annealed under normal conditions and high hydrostatic pre ssure are discussed. (C) 2001 Kluwer Academic Publishers.