Correlated Three-Dimensional Imaging of Dislocations: Insights into the Onset of Thermal Slip in Semiconductor Wafers

Correlated x-ray diffraction imaging and light microscopy provide a conclusive picture of three-dimensional dislocation arrangements on the micrometer scale. The characterization includes bulk crystallographic properties like Burgers vectors and determines links to structural features at the surface. Based on this approach, we study here the thermally induced slip-band formation at prior mechanical damage in Si wafers. Mobilization and multiplication of preexisting dislocations are identified as dominating mechanisms, and undisturbed long-range emission from regenerative sources is discovered.