Hydrogen Interaction with Dislocations in Si

An H plasma has a remarkable effect on dislocation mobility in silicon, reducing its activation energy to 1.2 eV. Applying density functional theory to the interactions of H and ${\mathrm{H}}_2$ with the core of the $90°$ partial dislocation in Si, we have identified a path for motion involving kink formation and migration at hydrogenated core bonds which conforms exactly to the experimentally measured activation energy.