Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 February 2011
The drift force exerted by a free surface, a coherent or a noncoherent interface on dopant atoms has been analyzed. We have considered a coherent or a noncoherent interface present in an epilayer of finite thickness. The difference in the shear modulus of the matrix and of the second phase is responsible for the configurational energy of a dopant atom in a coherent two-phase medium. On the other hand, the hydrostatic component of stress associated with a misfit dislocation in a noncoherent interface gives rise to a first-order size interaction. The drift forces are responsible for dopant diffusion towards a free surface or an interface. The diffusion equation including the drift term is solved using an eigen function expansion method with appropriate boundary conditions. The concentration profiles obtained from the analysis of the diffusion equation are in qualitative agreement with those obtained experimentally. The attractive drift force gives rise to a peak in the dopant concentration at the interface followed by a minimum near the interface. These calculations and the observed concentration profiles enable us to evaluate the interaction energy term of the dopants with free surfaces and interfaces and the dilatation associated with the point defects.