Electron Beam Induced Changes of the Real Structure of Semiconductors

The formation of irradiation defects produced in a high voltage electron microscope (HVEM) has been studied in Ge and other semiconductor crystals in dependence on various thermal treatments and on covering of the specimen surface. It has been concluded that the defect formation depends — besides general features known for pure metals — also on the state of electrically neutral impurities. Besides, various interactions between dislocations and irradiation defects were observed.