Abstract
A theoretical expression is derived describing the influence of the extrinsic and intrinsic point-defect concentration and of the strain energy on the critical radius of precipitates. It is shown that an exponential distribution of the precipitate radii leads to analytical expressions for the content of precipitating species present under the form of sub- and supercritical precipitate nuclei. The application of the obtained theoretical results is illustrated by a few case studies on silicon-oxide precipitates in silicon. Excellent agreement between the calculated and observed subcritical oxygen content in as-grown Czochralski silicon is obtained.