Evidence for Vacancy-Related Recombination Active Defects in as-Grown N-Type Czochralski Silicon

A recombination of active defect in very high lifetime Czochralski grown n-type silicon wafers, which can be thermally deactivated at 150 °C, is described. In addition, the existence of a recently measured defect, which is deactivated at 350 °C, is confirmed. Both defects are found to significantly degrade the lifetime of millisecond-range Czochralski-grown n-type silicon wafers: a material widely used for high-efficiency solar cells. The observed deactivation temperature suggests that it may be caused by vacancy-phosphorus pairs. The deactivation temperature of the second defect is consistent with the presence of vacancy-oxygen (V-O) pairs.