Samples of Czochralski silicon were observed after irradiation by a convergent electron beam in a transmission electron microscope. In a nitrogen-doped sample, the 200 keV electrons induced a vacancy-rich region containing point-defect clusters, surrounded by a ring rich in self-interstitials. No comparable effect existed in nitrogen-free reference samples. It is proposed that Frenkel pairs, created by electron collisions, are separated and stabilized by nitrogen or related complexes. Some interstitials become free to diffuse while the nitrogen, vacancies and oxygen agglomerate. This study demonstrates that the initial formation of voids and precipitate nuclei from point defects can be observed at low temperatures. (C) 2003 The Electrochemical Society.