Gettering of crystalline defects in Si by bending

Suppression of oxidation-induced stacking faults and microdefects in a Si wafer, subjected to bending during thermal oxidation, was studied. Straight dislocations were introduced only at the neutral plane in Si bulk, during bending in a furnace and retained as sinks through all subsequent high-temperature processings, thereby continuing to suppress the formation of oxidation-induced stacking faults and microdefects. Gettering while applying bending stress to the wafer is described, including the formation mechanism for dislocations at the neutral region.