Point defect interactions with extended defects in semiconductors

We performed a theoretical investigation of the interaction of point defect s (vacancy and self-interstitials) with an intrinsic stacking fault in sili con using ab initio total-energy calculations. Defects at the fault and in the crystalline environment display a different behavior, which is evidence d by changes in formation energy and electronic structure. The formation en ergies for the vacancy and the [110]-split interstitial are lower at the in trinsic stacking fault than those in the crystal, indicating that in nonequ ilibrium conditions, intrinsic stacking faults can act, together with other extended defects, as a sink for point defects, and also that in equilibriu m conditions, there can be a higher concentration of such defects at the fa ult than that in bulk silicon. [S0163-1829(99)03631-0].