The generation and propagation of dislocations in Si at high temperature was observed in situ using white beam X-ray topography. For the heating experiments a double ellipsoidal mirror furnace was installed at the beam-line of a synchrotron light source. Details of the experimental set-up and the first results on the occurrence of dislocations were presented. Artificial damage was generated in commercial (100) Si wafers using a nano-indenter with various loads. The applied forces for each set of indents were varied from 100 to 500mN, respectively. After heating to approximately 790C, large-area transmission topographs were taken every 30min and were then compared with room-temperature topographs before and after heating. At the outset, straight 60°-dislocations with b = a/2<110> originated from the 500mN indents in the direction of the strongest temperature gradient. After 1h at constant temperature, an increase in the length and number of the dislocations in other directions was also observed. As a result of the continual thermal stressing, dislocations developed from the 100mN indents as well.

Dislocation Generation Related to Micro-Cracks in Si Wafers - High Temperature in situ Study with White Beam X-ray Topography. A.Danilewsky, J.Wittge, A.Hess, A.Cröll, D.Allen, P.McNally, P.Vagovič, A.Cecilia, Z.Li, T.Baumbach, E.Gorostegui-Colinas, M.R.Elizalde: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B, 2010, 268[3-4], 399-402