Precipitation in Semiconductors

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Abstract
A brief review is given of the present status of precipitation phenomena in semiconductors. Recent theoretical advances in the analysis of diffusion-limited precipitation are described. The precipitation of Li and Si is discussed as an example of diffusion-limited precipitation in which metastable centers are observed, and the precipitation of Cu as an example to which formal nucleation theory appears to apply. A recent theory of the clustering of oxygen in Si is described and its significance in terms of the nucleation process is indicated. It is emphasized that a number of techniques are now available for the observation of tiny aggregates of impurities in semiconductors, and the need for a consistently microscopic theory of nucleation is pointed out.