A method of preparing an iron-implanted semiconductor wafer for use in surface photovoltage iron mapping and other evaluation techniques. A semiconductor wafer is implanted with iron through the at least two different regions of the front surface of the semiconductor at different iron implantation densities, and the iron-implanted semiconductor wafer is annealed at a temperature and duration sufficient to diffuse implanted iron into the bulk region of the semiconductor wafer.

A semiconductor device includes a polycrystalline silicon part buried in a termination region of a silicon layer. The polycrystalline silicon part contacts the silicon layer, has a higher crystal grain density than the silicon layer, and includes a heavy metal. The silicon layer includes a drift layer located in a cell region and the termination region. The drift layer has a lower first-conductivity-type impurity concentration than a silicon substrate. The drift layer includes a same element of heavy metal as the heavy metal included in the polycrystalline silicon part.

A method for manufacturing a substrate wafer 100 includes providing a device wafer (110) having a first side (111) and a second side (112); subjecting the device wafer (110) to a first high temperature process for reducing the oxygen content of the device wafer (110) at least in a region (112a) at the second side (112); bonding the second side (112) of the device wafer (110) to a first side (121) of a carrier wafer (120) to form a substrate wafer (100); processing the first side (101) of the substrate wafer (100) to reduce the thickness of the device wafer (110); subjecting the substrate wafer (100) to a second high temperature process for reducing the oxygen content at least of the device wafer (110); and at least partially integrating at least one semiconductor component (140) into the device wafer (110) after the second high temperature process.

Disclosed herein is a method of forming a gettering layer for capturing metallic ions on the back side of a semiconductor wafer formed with devices on the face side thereof. The method includes irradiating the back-side surface of the semiconductor wafer with a pulsed laser beam having a pulse width corresponding to a thermal diffusion length of 10 to 230 nm, to thereby form the gettering layer.

A method of fabricating a solar cell can include forming a dielectric region on a silicon substrate. The method can also include forming an emitter region over the dielectric region and forming a dopant region on a surface of the silicon substrate. In an embodiment, the method can include heating the silicon substrate at a temperature above 900 degrees Celsius to getter impurities to the emitter region and drive dopants from the dopant region to a portion of the silicon substrate.

The invention relates to an avalanche diode that can be employed as an ESD protection device. An avalanche ignition region is formed at the p-n junction of the diode and includes an enhanced defect concentration level to provide rapid onset of avalanche current. The avalanche ignition region is preferably formed wider than the diode depletion zone, and is preferably created by placement, preferably by ion implantation, of an atomic specie different from that of the principal device structure. The doping concentration of the placed atomic specie should be sufficiently high to ensure substantially immediate onset of avalanche current when the diode breakdown voltage is exceeded. The new atomic specie preferably comprises argon or nitrogen, but other atomic species can be employed. However, other means of increasing a defect concentration level in the diode depletion zone, such as an altered annealing program, are also contemplated.

To provide a semiconductor epitaxial wafer having an epitaxial layer with excellent crystallinity, the semiconductor epitaxial wafer is a semiconductor epitaxial wafer in which an epitaxial layer is formed on a surface of a semiconductor wafer, and the peak of the hydrogen concentration profile detected by SIMS lies in a surface portion of the semiconductor wafer on the side where the on the side where the epitaxial layer is formed.

In one embodiment, a semiconductor storage device includes a stacked body in which a plurality of conducting layers are stacked through a plurality of insulating layers in a first direction, a semiconductor layer penetrating the stacked body, extending in the first direction and including metal atoms, and a memory film including a first insulator, a charge storage layer and a second insulator that are provided between the stacked body and the semiconductor layer. The semiconductor layer surrounds a third insulator penetrating the stacked body and extending in the first direction, and at least one crystal grain in the semiconductor layer has a shape surrounding the third insulator.

A method of producing a semiconductor epitaxial wafer is provided. The method includes irradiating a surface of a semiconductor wafer with cluster ions to form a modified layer in a surface portion of the semiconductor wafer, in which the modified layer includes a constituent element of the cluster ions in solid solution. The method further includes forming an epitaxial layer on the modified layer of the semiconductor wafer. The irradiating is performed such that a portion of the modified layer in a thickness direction becomes an amorphous layer, and an average depth of an amorphous layer surface from a semiconductor wafer surface-side of the amorphous layer is at least 20 nm from the surface of the semiconductor wafer.

A silicon germanium alloy is formed on sidewall surfaces of a silicon fin. An oxidation process or a thermal anneal is employed to convert a portion of the silicon fin into a silicon germanium alloy fin. In some embodiments, the silicon germanium alloy fin has a wide upper portion and a narrower lower portion. In such an embodiment, the wide upper portion has a greater germanium content than the narrower lower portion. In other embodiments, the silicon germanium alloy fin has a narrow upper portion and a wider lower portion. In this embodiment, the narrow upper portion of the silicon germanium alloy fin has a greater germanium content than the wider lower portion of the silicon germanium alloy fin.