We study the pattern of oxidation induced stacking faults (OISF) on heavily boron doped silicon wafers. The measured radii of the OISF pattern are compared with V/ G simulations and the dependence of the critical V/ G value (xi) on boron concentration is constructed. The xi value for undoped silicon (xi(0)) is assumed to be close to 0.13 mm(2)/ min K. The critical value rises steadily with boron concentration following a logarithmic dependency. The OISF ring located in the P band, commonly observed in lightly doped silicon, is not detected. We observe the banded OISF pattern, which reflects the residual vacancy profile according to the qualitative model for microdefects formation proposed by Voronkov and Falster [ J. Cryst. Growth, 204, 462 ( 1999 ) ]. Such OISF distribution is not reported so far. As an explanation, abnormal oxygen precipitation during crystal growth due to heavy boron doping and high oxygen content is assumed. Consequently, the grown-in oxygen precipitates, whose density corresponds to the residual vacancy concentration, are stable at the temperature above 1050 degrees C and serve as the OISF nuclei. Furthermore, we observe fine structure of the L band and a strong dependence of the OISF pattern appearance on the oxygen content and the crystal thermal history. (c) 2007 The Electrochemical Society.