The rate of the radiation-stimulated change in the microhardness of Si single crystals exposed to irradiation with a low-intensity flux of beta particles (105 < I < 2.9 x 106/cm2s) was studied as a function of the radiation intensity. The temperature was determined at which the microhardness H = H τ reached in a time τ under low-intensity beta irradiation regains its initial value H 0. The results obtained indicated that complexes containing 2 vacancies play a dominant role in the radiation-stimulated softening of Si single crystal.

Structure of Complexes Responsible for Radiation-Stimulated Softening of Silicon Single Crystals. Y.I.Golovin, A.A.Dmitrievskiĭ, N.Y.Suchkova: Physics of the Solid State, 2006, 48[2], 279-82