Pressure-enhanced crystallization kinetics of amorphous Si and Ge: Implications for point-defect mechanisms

The effects of hydrostatic pressure on the solid‐phase epitaxial growth (SPEG) rate v of intrinsic Ge(100) and undoped and doped Si(100) into their respective self‐implanted amorphous phases are reported. Samples were annealed in a high‐temperature, high‐pressure diamond anvil cell. Cryogenically loaded fluid Ar, used as the pressure transmission medium, ensured a clean and hydrostatic environment. v was determined by in situ time‐resolved visible (for Si) or infrared (for Ge) interferometry. v increased exponentially with pressure, characterized by a negative activation volume of −0.46Ω in Ge, where Ω is the atomic volume, and −0.28Ω in Si. The activation volume in Si is independent of both dopant concentration and dopant type. Structural relaxation of the amorphous phases has no significant effect on v. These and other results are inconsistent with all bulk point‐defect mechanisms, but consistent with all interface point‐defect mechanisms, proposed to date.A kinetic analysis of the Spaepen–Turnbull inte...