On the annihilation of oxidation induced stacking faults in silicon

Abstract

By employing transmission electron microscopy the mechanisms for the annihilation of oxidation-induced stacking faults in silicon have been examined, Faults are removed from the crystal as a result of fault shrinkage as well as by the initiation of the unfaulting reaction involving the nucleation and motion of Shockley partials. Sequential heat treatments of silicon crystals under oxidizing and impurity-diffusing conditions, characteristic of semiconductor device and circuit manufacture, can promote fault-annihilation processes.