Journal of the Electrochemical Society, Vol.142, No.6, 2077-2080, 1995
Evidence for Ostwald Ripening of Vacancy Clusters in Float-Zone Silicon Obtained from Preannealing Dependence of Gold Diffusion Behavior
Part of a float zone Si wafer was given a prolonged anneal at 960 degrees C. Au was then diffused into samples of the annealed and unannealed portions of the wafer for various periods of time. Au concentration was inferred from spreading resistance measurements. We find that the crystal which was annealed before deposition of Au produced a different Au accumulation as a function of time than the as-received crystal. Further, the Au concentration at the center of the wafer does not follow the previously reported t(1/2) behavior; it follows a curve that exhibits an inflection. We believe these results are best interpreted in terms of vacancy clusters retained in the Si during the original crystal growth.
Keywords:SELF-INTERSTITIALS