Model for dislocation locking by oxygen gettering in silicon crystals

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Abstract
Oxygen gettering to dislocations slows and stops dislocation motion caused by applied stress in silicon crystals. A model is presented that quantitatively describes the inhibition of dislocation motion by accounting for the drag caused by the oxygen atmosphere in the crystal around the dislocation and for oxygen aggregates inside the dislocation core. The oxygen distribution is computed by analysis of diffusion and stress-assisted migration in the crystalline lattice. The predictions of the model agree quantitatively with the experimental data of Imai and Sumino. Hysteresis is predicted in the dependence of the dislocation velocity on applied stress and explains the difference in the unlocking and locking stresses for dislocation motion.