In-situ HVEM Observations of Dislocation Processes during High Temperature Deformation of Silicon Crystals

The characteristics in the plastic deformation of silicon crystals are first reviewed. Such characteristics have been interpreted quantitatively on the basis of some models on the velocity and the multiplication of dislocations during deformation. The results of the in-situ observations of silicon crystals deformed at elevated temperatures in a HVEM are presented. The slowness and the smoothness in the dislocation motion, the dynamic pile-up as a general mode of the collective motion of dislocations, the formation processes of multiplication centers of dislocations observed during the deformation all support the validity of the models adopted. Dislocation dipoles and Lomer-Cottrell sessiles are observed not to act as strong obstacles which play important roles in the work hardening of the crystals.