Mobility of dislocations in semiconductors

TL;DR

This study uses atomic-scale tight-binding calculations to analyze the mobility of 90° partial dislocations in silicon, confirming the kink-mediated movement mechanism and exploring the link between activation energy and band gap.

Contribution

It provides a detailed atomic-level understanding of dislocation mobility in silicon using effective-medium tight-binding theory, aligning theoretical results with experimental data.

Findings

Dislocation moves via stable kink formation.

Calculated activation energies match experimental values.

Correlation between glide activation energy and band gap discussed.

Abstract

Atomic-scale calculations for the dynamics of the 90$^0$ partial glide dislocation in silicon are made using the effective-medium tight-binding theory. Kink formation and migration energies for the reconstructed partial dislocation are compared with experimental results for the mobility of this dislocation. The results confirm the theory that the partial moves in the dissociated state via the formation of stable kinks. The correlation between glide activation energy and band gap in semiconducting systems is discussed.