Effects of Growth Rate on Crystal Perfection and Lifetime in Germanium

Effects of crystal growth rate and growth direction on the density of random dislocations and on the minority carrier lifetime have been observed. The dislocation density increases rapidly with growth rate above a rate of about 0.15 in. per minute and varies somewhat with growth direction. The capture efficiency per unit length of dislocation decreases at high growth rates and it is suggested that this effect is caused by the failure of impurity atoms to segregate at dislocations or by the clustering of dislocations.