Short range atomic migration in amorphous silicon

Experiments on self-diffusion in amorphous silicon between 400 and 500 °C are presented, which were carried out by neutron reflectometry in combination with 29Si/natSi isotope multilayers. Short range diffusion is detected on a length scale of about 2 nm, while long range diffusion is absent. Diffusivities are in the order of 10−19–10−20 m2/s and decrease with increasing annealing time, reaching an undetectable low value for long annealing times. This behavior is strongly correlated to structural relaxation and can be explained as a result of point defect annihilation. Diffusivities for short annealing times of 60 s follow the Arrhenius law with an activation enthalpy of (0.74 ± 0.21) eV, which is interpreted as the activation enthalpy of Si migration.