On the origin of dislocation loops in irradiated materials: A point of view from silicon

Abstract

Numerous dislocation loops are often observed in irradiated and nuclear materials, affecting many physical properties. The understanding of their origin and of their growth mechanism remains unclear rendering all modeling efforts elusive. In this paper, we remind the knowledge which has been gained during the last 20years on the formation and growth of extrinsic dislocations loops in irradiated/implanted silicon. From the compilation of a large number of experimental results, a unified picture describing the thermal evolution of interstitial defects, from the di-interstitial stable at room temperature, to “magic-size” clusters then to rod-like defects and finally to large dislocation loops of two types has emerged. All these defects grow by Ostwald ripening, i.e. by interchanging the interstitial atoms they are composed of, and transform from one to the other driven by the resulting reduction of the defect formation energy. A model has been proposed and is now integrated into process simulators which quantitatively describes the thermal evolution of all these defects, based on pertinent formation energies. The influence of the proximity of free surfaces or other recombining interfaces can be integrated, allowing simulating the possible dissolution of defects.It is suggested that, beyond silicon, the same type of scenario may take place in many materials. Dislocation loops are just one, easily detectable among many, type of defects which forms during the growth of self-interstitials. They do not nucleate but result from the growth and transformation of smaller defects.