(Invited) Effect of Low Carbon Concentration on Bulk Lifetime of Silicon Crystal. (4th May 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Higasa, Mitsuo; Nagai, Yuta; Nakagawa, Satoko; Kashima, Kazuhiko
• Is Part Of: ECS transactions. Volume 72:Number 4(2016)
• Page Start: 57
• Page End: 63
• Publication Date: 2016-05-04
• Subjects: Electrochemistry -- Periodicals; Electrochemistry; Periodicals; Electronic journals; Electronic journal; 541.37
• DOI: 10.1149/07204.0057ecst
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1938-5862

Abstract

Abstract : Reducing the electric loss of power semiconductor devices such as insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) is necessary for saving energy and reducing fuel consumption. An essential factor for achieving low-loss IGBTs is increasing the bulk lifetime of the silicon crystals. To achieve a longer bulk lifetime, we reduced the carbon concentration in magnetic-field-applied Czochralski (MCZ) silicon. We investigated the bulk lifetime of MCZ silicon with ultralow-carbon-concentration and floating-zone (FZ) silicon to clarify the impact of carbon impurities on the bulk lifetime. The bulk lifetime was measured using a direct-current photoconductive decay method designated by ASTM F28-75. The bulk lifetime of MCZ silicon drastically increased with decreasing carbon concentration. MCZ silicon crystals with a carbon concentration less than 1.0 × 10 15 atoms/cm 3 exhibited a longer bulk lifetime than FZ silicon crystals. We demonstrated that carbon-concentration reduction is crucial for increasing the bulk lifetime of MCZ silicon crystals.