Abstract
On the basis of theoretical considerations it is shown that the critical surface‐impurity concentration Nscrit for the generation of slip during diffusion, as well as the depth η0 to which dislocations will move, depend strongly on the impurity concentration profile. A weak dependence of Nscrit on crystal orientation has to be expected also. Nscrit has been calculated for phosphorus diffusing into silicon to be 4.11×1020 cm−3 with the reasonable assumption of a complementary error‐function impurity profile. The experimental value is 2.0×1020 cm−3 <Nscrit 20 cm−3. The theory has been used to explain details in slip patterns displayed on a {110} surface after etching the sample. Finally the markedly different appearance of slip patterns due to apparently small variations in diffusion parameters is demonstrated and discussed.