FORMATION OF OXYGEN PRECIPITATES IN SILICON

The initial stage of formation of oxygen precipitates in silicon is in vestigated by deep-level transient spectroscopy, selective etching, an d infrared spectrometry. It is established that the formation of oxyge n precipitates at T-a = 600-960 degrees C is sustained by the emergenc e of local zones enriched with interstitial oxygen. As the anneal time is increased, these zones decrease in size, and the local oxygen conc entration makes a transition to the SiO2 phase. Hydrostatic pressure a pplied in the nucleation stage lends to the formation of finer precipi tates and accelerates the transition to the SiO2 phase. (C) 1997 Ameri can Institute of Physics.