ABSTRACT
The electronic, vibrational, and optical properties of defects in semiconductors are all affected by temperature. Within the broad subject of thermal properties, this chapter focuses on defect formation and diffusion, phenomena that play important roles during crystal growth and processing of semiconductors. We first discuss the thermodynamics of defect formation, including the effect of the Fermi level and chemical potentials. We then review diffusion, from the continuum to the atomic scale. Examples of selfdiffusion, dopant diffusion, and superlattice disordering are given.
