Atomic-structure changes of 30∘ partial-dislocation cores due to excess carriers in GaP

Abstract

It was experimentally reported that light illumination leads to reduced deformation stresses in some III-V compound semiconductors such as GaP. This phenomenon is known as the negative photoplastic effect, which is expected to originate from interactions between photoexcited carriers and glide dislocations. To clarify its physical origin at the atomic and electronic levels, density-functional-theory calculations were performed for Shockley ${30}^{\circ }$ partial dislocations in GaP. In the absence of excess carriers, both Ga and P cores of the partial dislocations were found to have reconstructed structures that are energetically most stable. This can be understood by the fact that dangling-bond-like states at undercoordinated atoms of the dislocation cores are removed by core reconstruction. In the presence of excess carriers that would be formed by light illumination, the reconstructed Ga and P cores were able to trap excess holes and electrons, respectively, and were subsequently transformed to unreconstructed structures. It was also found that the unreconstructed structures due to excess carriers tend to have smaller potential barrier heights for dislocation glide, as compared to the pristine reconstructed structures without any excess carriers. This is in good agreement with the increased dislocation mobility in GaP under external light illumination that has been experimentally reported.