Transport of thermodynamic information by self-interstitials between precipitates in silicon

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Abstract
Strain generated by the bulk precipitation of oxygen in silicon may be relieved by the emission of self‐interstitials. The equations describing diffusion‐controlled precipitation with a volume constraint relieved by the emission of self‐interstitials are given and applied to two model systems which take into account the buildup of a self‐interstitial supersaturation. In the first model system, it is shown that precipitates starting to grow within the same volume in which others have been growing for some time will finally shrink and disappear. The shrinkage is driven by the self‐interstitial supersaturation. In the second model system the self‐interstitials generated by growing precipitates in a given region are found to transport thermodynamic information on the precipitation in this region to adjacent volume regions, where they can influence nucleation and growth of precipitates. The correlation between oxygen fluctuations and precipitation fluctuations are discussed in terms of the effects occurring in the ideal model system. Finally, a similar approach is used to mathematically describe carbon and silicide bulk precipitation.