Energetics of self-interstitial clusters in Si

The transient supersaturation in a system undergoing Ostwald ripening is related to the cluster formation energy Efc as a function of cluster size n. We use this relation to study the energetics of self-interstitial clusters in Si. Measurements of transient enhanced diffusion of B in Si-implanted Si are used to determine S t , and inverse modeling is used to derive Efc n . For clusters with n . 15, Efc 0.8 eV, close to the fault energy of 113 defects. For clusters with n , 10, Efc is typically 0.5 eV higher, but stabler clusters exist at n 4 (Efc 1.0 eV) and n 8 (Efc 0.6 eV).