Long-range influence of illumination on the microhardness of aluminum and silicon
The long-range effect of illumination (under the conditions excluding significant macroscopic heating of samples) on the microhardness of Al foils and Si wafers has been investigated. The regularities of changes in the microhardness for both materials are qualitatively identical. A model of this effect is proposed, which is based on the ideas about excitation of ultrasonic waves in the metal (semiconductor)-natural oxide system. The experimental data on the effect of a weak ultrasonic field on the silicon microhardness are in agreement with the proposed model.