Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
We report initial results of an x-ray diffraction study of thepressure-dependence of the interdiffusion rate in amorphous Si/GeMultilayers. Anneals were performed in a diamond anvil cell at 700 K forvarious pressures and durations. Interdiffusion was measured by Monitoringthe rate of decay of the artificial Bragg peaks associated with themultilayer periodicity. A consistent increase in diffusivity was seen withpressure, characterized by an activation volume of -25±11 percent of theatomic volume of Si. An atomistic mechanism that Might account for suchbehavior is discussed.