Deep‐level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) and neutron‐activation analysis have been applied to measure the gold distribution after a phosphorus gettering step. It is found that the gettering mechanism is able to operate without induced dislocations but depends mainly on the surface phosphorus concentration. For example, whenCs=1021/cm3, the gold concentration is reduced by a factor 103over the whole thickness of a wafer. This Au trapping phenomenon is attributed to the presence of a phosphorus‐induced point defect and related to the emitter push effect mechanism.