Transmission electron microscopy was used to determine how ion damage affected the diffusion of implanted dopants and how the damage evolved so as to give the extended dislocations that were seen after prolonged annealing. It was found that both processes involved so-called {311} (rod-like) defects. At low doses, the {311} defects evaporated during annealing and emitted interstitials. The characteristic time for the decay of {311} defects, and the associated activation energy of 3.6eV, agreed precisely with the observed duration of the bursts of interstitials which were seen in diffusion measurements. Counting of {311} defects was also used to assess the accuracy of the so-called plus-one approximation for the excess interstitials that were seen after implantation. At higher doses, the {311} defects could also undergo a series of unfaulting reactions. Contrary to previous reports, it was found that (during electron irradiation) the {311} defects initially unfaulted so as to yield Frank loops, followed by unfaulting of the Frank loops to give a/2<110> dislocations.

D.J.Eaglesham, P.A.Stolk, H.T.Gossmann, T.E.Haynes, J.M.Poate: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B, 1995, 106[1-4], 191-7