Patent ID: 7537657

Claim:
A process for producing a single-crystal silicon wafer, comprising the following steps a) and b): a) producing a layer on the silicon wafer, said layer having one of the following characteristics: i) said layer is produced on a front surface of the silicon wafer by epitaxial deposition; ii) a front surface of said layer has an electrical resistance that differs from electrical resistance of a remainder of the silicon wafer; iii) said layer is an external getter layer on a back surface of the silicon wafer, and b) heat treating the silicon wafer at a temperature which is selected such that the inequality (1) [ Oi ] < [ Oi ] eq ⁢ ( T ) ⁢ exp ⁢ 2 ⁢ σ SiO ⁢ ⁢ 2 ⁢ Ω rkT is satisfied, where [Oi] is an oxygen concentration in the silicon wafer, [Oi] eq (T) is a limit solubility of oxygen in silicon at a temperature T, σ SiO2 is the surface energy of silicon dioxide, Ω is the volume of a precipitated oxygen atom, r is a mean COP radium and k is the Boltzmann constant, with the silicon wafer being exposed to an oxygen-containing atmosphere during at least a portion of said heat treating, and wherein the wafer is heated to the temperature of heat treating at a rate of 2K/s or more.