A New Method for Transmission Electron Microscope Observation of Grown-in Defects in As-Grown Czochralski Silicon (111) Crystals

A new technique for transmission electron microscope (TEM) observation of grown-in defects has been developed. The grown-in defects beneath the surface, at the “origin of crystal originated particles (COPs)”, are detected using a laser particle counter combined with an atomic force microscope (AFM). Subsequently, the position of the “origin of COP” using the above mentioned detection method is marked at the surface by applying the anodization technique using an AFM, and the TEM samples are prepared using this marking. Through this technique, we have succeeded in observing the “origin of COPs” using a TEM. It has been clarified that the “origin of COPs” are imperfect octahedron voids with thin oxide walls with no strain around them. These results have indicated that the “origin of COPs” are equivalent to the “laser scattering tomography defects (LSTDs)”.