THE GROWTH OF HIGHLY PURE SILICON-CRYSTALS

Silicon crystals are the key material in electronics today because the technology is based almost exclusively on single-crystal silicon. Modem electronic devices require the silicon crystals to be of very high purity and crystalline perfection. This paper describes the processes and problems of industrial production of highly pure silicon crystals and describes their properties. Because of the beneficial effect of oxygen during high-temperature device processing, most electronic devices are made from the oxygen-rich crucible-pulled Czochralski silicon. In experiments to determine the Avogadro constant and redefine the kilogram, only the purer float-zone grown silicon can be used.