Synchrotron X-radiation plane-wave topography for imaging microdefects in thinned silicon crystals

Synchrotron X-radiation plane-wave topography for thinned silicon crystals is shown to be effective and sensitive for imaging minute strains around microdefects. Visibility of microdefects in crystals thinned down to a thickness (about 100 μm) smaller than several times the extinction distance is compared with that in crystals as thick (0.6 mm for Mo Kα 1 ) as μ -1 (μ: linear absorption coefficient). Various kinds of microdefects reveal themselves much more in the thinned crystals. Observed microdefects are classified into five morphological categories. One of the observed microdefects has an image extinction rule suggesting a specified strain field around it. The morphology of microdefects is described in detail.