A float zone wafer is commonly used for power devices and detector applications because of its superior characteristics. It is also used to produce optical components for terahertz applications, like lenses and windows because it is highly transparent to terahertz radiation. Float zone wafers are also utilized in solar arrays of satellites because of their higher conversion efficiency. In this article, we will discuss to you why float zone wafers are the preferred type of wafer when it comes to these applications.
Crystals grown through the float zone method have a higher growth rate compared to the crystals grown through the CZ process. It is estimated that the growth rate can reach up to 2-3 times higher, which is good because higher growth rates mean that the chances of developing defects in a wafer are reduced.
The presence of oxygen during the growth process of silicon can cause impurities to enter. Good thing, oxygen levels are kept minimal when growing a float zone wafer. This means that impurities and particulates cannot easily penetrate through the float zone wafer.
Float zone wafers can control resistance throughout the entire crystal. This ability is very useful, especially if you want to utilize them for manufacturing electronic devices and equipment. To summarize, float zone wafers are the preferred type of wafer for high-power devices because of the following: large bulk resistivity range, high minority carrier lifespan with reduced radial variation of the bulk lifetime, reduced resistivity tolerances and reduced radial resistivity variation, permissive towards device processing, and are able to control defect levels internally.
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