Copper diffusion in germanium: connecting point defect parameters with bulk properties

Copper diffusion in germanium is fundamentally and technologically important as it has a very low activation energy and influences the precipitation and gettering of copper respectively. These constitute the understanding of copper’s diffusion properties in germanium over a range of temperatures and pressures important. In the present study we use the cBΩ model in which the defect Gibbs energy is proportional to the isothermal bulk modulus (B) and the mean volume per atom (Ω). The elastic and expansivity data is used in the description of the cBΩ model to derive the copper interstitial diffusion coefficient in germanium in the temperature range 827–1,176 K. The calculated results are discussed in view of the available experimental data.