In situ observation of formation and growth of oxygen nano-precipitates in silicon with high energy X-rays from a laboratory source

Diffusion-driven precipitate growth and ripening of oxygen precipitates in boron doped silicon by dynamical x-ray diffraction

“…The BF and DF images taken under two beam condition for (004) show pronounced strain contrast making it difficult to unambiguously determine the shape of the precipitate. In contrast, the images taken under two beam condition for (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20) clearly reveal that the precipitate has a plate-like character and lies on the (001) plane. From the smallest width of the contrast, the thickness of the precipitates can be roughly estimated.…”

“…Related to this functionality, it is crucial to have control over the density, size, and morphology of the precipitates. Diffraction techniques 2,3 and in particular dynamical X-ray diffraction expressed by Pendell€ osung fringes [4][5][6] are highly sensitive to the volume misfit between the precipitated phase and the host lattice, which is the origin of the strain fields. As an additional benefit, these techniques are capable of in-situ experiments at high temperature, which allows the monitoring of the entire precipitation kinetics.…”