Germanium microhardness and the correlation of indentation creep with dislocation velocity

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Abstract
Temperature- and time-dependent measurements of the Vickers microhardness of germanium have been made. The measured hardness can be seen to be the result of two separate mechanisms. When an indentor is placed upon a germanium surface a time-independent, relatively temperature-independent mechanism is responsible for the formation of an initial impression. The indentation enlarges by a strongly temperature- and time-dependent glide process. The first process may be the result of either the semiconductor to metal phase transformation with subsequent deformation of the metallic phase or the athermal motion of dislocations over the Peierls barrier. At the present time there is insufficient evidence to distinguish between these two mechanisms. On the other hand, the second process can be shown to be a direct result of plastic flow by the thermally-activated motion of dislocations in germanium. A simple model is developed through which the time and temperature dependence of germanium microhardness can be directly compared with experimentally determined velocities of individual dislocations.
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