Formation mechanism of grown-in defects in silicon

Problems resulting from the trend toward small-scale and highly integrated circuits used in semiconductor devices are caused by grown-in defects in the silicon crystal. Although a great many researchers have investigated the nature of these defects, their systematical formation mechanism is not clarified. Findings reveal that the intrinsic point defects and oxygen are closely related to the formation mechanism. Assuming the complex is composed of vacancies and oxygen atoms between relatively high temperatures in silicon, the formation mechanism of grown-in defects is examined, and also a system of three equations for diffusions of vacancies, self-interstitials and oxygen atoms is presented in detail, using the complex as a sink and source of vacancies and oxygen atoms in silicon.