The Production of Vacancy-Oxygen Defects in Electron-Irradiated Cz-Si Initially Treated at High Temperatures and High Pressures

We report studies of defects in electron-irradiated Czochralski-grown silicon (Cz-Si) subjected to thermal treatments at 1000oC and 1130oC with or without the application of high hydrostatic pressure of ~ 11 Kbars, prior to irradiation. The work is primarily focused on the impact of the pre-treatments on the production rate of the VO defect and its conversion to the VO2 defect. To this end, IR spectroscopy measurements were carried out and the amplitudes of the VO band (830 cm-1) and the VO2 band (888 cm-1) were monitored in the course of an isochronal anneal sequence up to ~ 550oC. Thermal treatments at 1000oC result in a reduction of the production rate of the VO defect. This rate however increases when pressure is applied during the treatment. The opposite behavior is observed for thermal treatments at 1130oC. The production rate of the VO increases slightly in heat treated samples but decreases substantially when high pressure is applied. Similar trends show the conversion of the VO to the VO2 defect for the corresponding treatments. The results are discussed taking into account the oxygen precipitates formed at the various treatments and their impact on the amount of primary defects available during irradiation which affects the production of the vacancy-oxygen defects.