Abstract
The growth of silicon crystals from a melt contained in a granulate crucible significantly differs from the classical growth techniques because of the granulate feedstock and the continuous growth process. We performed a systematic study of impurities and structural defects in several such crystals with diameters up to 60 mm. The possible origin of various defects is discussed and attributed to feedstock (concentration of transition metals), growth setup (carbon concentration), or growth process (dislocation density), showing the potential for further optimization. A distinct correlation between crystal defects and bulk carrier lifetime is observed. A bulk carrier lifetime with values up to 600 μs on passivated surfaces of dislocation-free parts of the crystal is currently achieved.
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Acknowledgments
Open Access funding provided by Projekt DEAL. The authors are indebted to a large number of colleagues for continuous support of this study. The development of the growth process and the realization of growth experiments at the IKZ were performed by B. Faraji-Tajrishi, L. Lehmann, A. Nikiforova, M. Renner, S. Weiß and supported by further members of the Sigret project team. The application of various characterization techniques at the IKZ would have not been possible without S. Bergmann (SEM), C. Guguschev (EDLM), S. Kayser (LPS), A. Kwasniewski (x-ray measurements), T. Markurt (SEM), M. Pietsch (FTIR, resistivity), M. Renner (resistivity), and T. Schulz (LST). We also thank K. Banse, M. Imming-Friedland, V. Lange, and T. Wurche (all IKZ), as well as B. Neubert and A. Albrecht (both TU Freiberg), for sample preparation. ICP-MS analysis was performed by S. Meyer at the Fraunhofer CSP (Halle). We are grateful to Ch. Frank-Rotsch, C. Guguschev, and F.-M. Kießling (all IKZ) for many helpful discussions. This work was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation, Grant 260161677) at the TU Freiberg as well as by the Leibniz Association in the frame of the Leibniz Competition 2016 at the IKZ.
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Dadzis, K., Menzel, R., Juda, U. et al. Characterization of Silicon Crystals Grown from Melt in a Granulate Crucible. J. Electron. Mater. 49, 5120–5132 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-020-08309-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-020-08309-1