Spreading resistance measurements on starting silicon crystals

This paper is concerned with the question whether the relatively small resistivity variations present in starting silicon can be measured with the spreading resistance method of Mazur and Dickey with an accuracy that is satisfactory for a characterization of the material. Comparative measurements will be reported on that were performed on silicon slices with this conventional method on the one hand and with a method to measure spreading resistance using nonblocking aluminum-silicon contacts on the other hand. The conventional spreading resistance measurements were taken in eight different laboratories.