Formation of the oxygen precipitate-free zone in silicon

Abstract
A model for the formation of the oxygen precipitate-free zone (PFZ) has been developed for silicon subjected to ‘‘high–low–high’’ anneals. This model uses a time-dependent nucleation rate for the calculation of the nuclei density, and the stability of the precipitate nuclei at the temperature of the third anneal for the calculation of the PFZ depth. The incubation time for nucleation and the interfacial energy between the oxygen precipitates and the silicon matrix are obtained by fitting experimental data. Using the incubation time and the interfacial energy so obtained, the PFZ depth, the precipitate density profiles, and the oxygen concentration profiles calculated from this model are in good agreement with experimental data.