Criterion for the softening effect in crystalline materials under their doping

Abstract

A dislocation model of the effect of softening (i.e., decrease in the microhardness or yield stress of the doped material as compared to the initial material) is developed. The motion of dislocations in metals with the body-centered cubic structure, semiconductors, and other materials in accordance with the kink mechanism is described taking into account the effect of impurity atoms creating the centers for benign generation of kink pairs and obstacles for propagation of kinks. The conditions under which the velocity of dislocations increases after the introduction of impurities are determined using the equation describing the kinetics of passage of dislocations through the Peierls barrier in the doped material.