The energies of microvoid formation in Si as a function of applied hydrostatic stress

Abstract

Using a Tersoff-type empirical potential energy function, the free energy of formation for microvoids in silicon containing 24 and 57 vacancies was calculated at 1000 K as a function of externally applied hydrostatic stress in the range of −10 kbar (tensile) to 10 kbar (compressive). The results indicate that bigger microvoids are more sensitive to the applied stress than the smaller ones.