Oxygen precipitation in silicon

The behavior of oxygen in Czochralski grown silicon has been intensely studied in the last few years because of the beneficial and harmful effects that oxygen precipitates and oxygen precipitate-induced dislocation loops can have on the manufacture of electronic devices in silicon wafers. This paper will review four topics associated with the use of Czochralski silicon (1); the kinetics associated with nucleation and growth of oxygen precipitates in the bulk of the wafer; the creation of defect-free denuded zones at the front surface of wafers; the creation and annihilation of oxygen related donors; and the role of carbon impurities in oxygen precipitation.