The behavior of B which had been implanted into single crystals was investigated by means of  radiation detected nuclear magnetic resonance and cross-relaxation spectroscopy. The diffusion of substitutional B was observed at temperatures ranging from 600 to 750K. By combining information gleaned from new and published data, it was shown that this diffusion was not mediated by any other defect, and instead occurred via direct site exchange between substitutional B and neighboring Cu atoms. It was suggested that B in Cu was the first system for which this diffusion mechanism had been experimentally established.

B.Ittermann, H.Ackermann, H.J.Stöckmann, K.H.Ergezinger, M.Heemeier, F.Kroll, F.Mai, K.Marbach, D.Peters, G.Sulzer: Physical Review Letters, 1996, 77[23], 4784-7