Elimination of Process‐Induced Stacking Faults by Preoxidation Gettering of Si Wafers: II . Process

A simple and novel process which prevents the formation of oxidation‐induced stacking faults (SF) during the fabrication of Si devices is described. The process involves the deposition of a film on the back of the wafer followed by a preoxidation annealing. This procedure eliminates the nucleation centers and impurities, which occur during the oxide growth, involved in the formation of SF. The process has also been found to effectively reduce the wafer contamination by impurities such as Cu and Au. Application of this preoxidation gettering process to device processing is shown to be effective in drastically reducing leakages in p‐n junctions and in eliminating the nucleation centers associated with the SF tetrahedron often found in the fabrication of Si bipolar devices.