Characterization of the oxygen distribution in Czochralski silicon using hydrogen-enhanced thermal donor formation

The hydrogen-enhanced thermal donor (TD) formation in Czochralski (Cz) silicon is used for the characterization of the interstitial oxygen distribution by spreading resistance probe (SRP) analysis or by the carrier concentration from capacitance–voltage (C–V) measurements. For as-grown wafers or wafers with a denuded zone, the enhanced TD formation in Cz silicon has been studied by applying a hydrogenation from a plasma. A kinetic model for the hydrogen-enhanced TD formation is presented, and a method for the conversion of the carrier concentration due to TDs into a concentration of interstitial oxygen is proposed. For comparison, infrared spectrometry was applied for the characterization of the oxygen concentration in the samples. On the basis of the proposed model, the analysis by the SRP or C–V measurements of Cz Si samples containing TDs, which were generated with the support of hydrogen, can be used for the quantitative estimation of the distribution of interstitial oxygen in the as-grown wafers as well as, at least qualitatively, of the interstitial oxygen distribution in wafers with denuded zones.