A Study of Float-Zoned NTD Silicon Grown in a Hydrogen Ambient

Abstract

The techniques of NTD silicon production have been well developed especially for float-zoned silicon grown in an argon ambient. Irradiation effects, annealing procedures, and device fabrication techniques are well known. However, for float-zoned silicon grown in a hydrogen ambient, hydrogen is incorporated into the crystal, and it is not clear whether the presence of the hydrogen will affect the properties of NTD silicon and influence the associated device production. Experiments were performed in order to study and resolve these questions. Samples of float-zoned silicon prepared in a hydrogen atmosphere with high resistivities were selected as starting materials and were irradiated in a swimming pool reactor. Some properties of these silicon samples after this NTD doping were studied, and high power devices were fabricated and compared to similar devices fabricated from float-zoned silicon grown in an argon ambient.