Patent ID: 7977216

Claim:
A method of semiconductor processing, comprising: thermally processing a silicon wafer to form a denuded zone and a bulk area in the silicon wafer; loading the thermally processed silicon wafer into a heating apparatus at a loading temperature; first heating the loaded silicon wafer from the loading temperature to a first temperature; first annealing the first-heated silicon wafer at the first temperature to generate oxygen precipitates in the first-heated silicon wafer; second heating the first-annealed silicon wafer directly from the first temperature to a second temperature, the second temperature being greater than the first temperature; second annealing the second-heated silicon wafer at the second temperature to enlarge and increase a density of the oxygen precipitates in the second-heated silicon wafer; cooling the second-annealed silicon wafer from the second temperature to an unloading temperature; and unloading the cooled silicon wafer from the heating apparatus at the unloading temperature; wherein the thermally processing of the silicon wafer occurs prior to the loading of the thermally processed silicon wafer.