Electron-irradiation enhanced dislocation glide in II-VI semiconductors

Transmission electron microscope in situ deformation experiments have been performed on ZnS and ZnSe single crystals to get quantitative information on the effect of electronic excitation on dislocation movement. The dislocation mobility is strongly enhanced by electron irradiation as a result of the lowering of the lattice friction. The observed reduction in activation energy is discussed in terms of the radiation-enhanced dislocation glide mechanism, due to nonradiative recombination of injected carriers at electronic levels associated with dislocations. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.