Internal friction in undeformed and deformed GaAs by the formation and recovery of metastable EL2*

Abstract

The internal friction technique is applied to investigate the transformations between the normal and metastable states of EL2‐like defects in undeformed and deformed GaAs. By deformation EL2‐like defects are introduced, which are quenchable by light. A spatial distribution of the transformation rate is found which is discussed in terms of stress variations throughout the sample. The recovery of metastable EL2* and a metastable EL2*‐acceptor complex can be observed in undeformed material by the emission of carriers but not in deformed material. The latter result is attributed to dislocation levels, which act as traps for the released carriers.