Dislocation motions in Czochralski silicon wafers treated by rapid thermal processing under different atmospheres

Effects of prior rapid thermal processing (RTP) under different atmospheres on the motion of dislocations initiated from indentations in Czochralski (CZ) silicon have been investigated. It is found that the maximum gliding distances of dislocations in the specimens with the prior RTP under nitrogen (N-2) atmosphere are much smaller than those in the specimens with the prior RTP under argon (Ar) atmosphere. This is also the case when the specimens received annealing for oxygen precipitation (OP) subsequent to the RTP at 1250 degrees C under N-2 and Ar atmospheres, respectively. It is believed that the nitrogen atoms introduced during the RTP under nitrogen atmosphere or the oxygen precipitates facilitated by the RTP-introduced nitrogen atoms can exhibit pinning effect on the dislocation motion, which increases the critical resolved shear stress for dislocation glide.