Specific features of formation and propagation of 60° and 90° misfit dislocations in GexSi1−x/Si films with x>0.4

The dislocation structure at the initial stage of relaxation of Ge_xSi_1−x films (x∼0.4–0.8) grown on Si (0 0 1) substrates tilted at 6° to the nearest (1 1 1) plane is studied. The use of Si substrates tilted away from the exact (0 0 1) orientation for epitaxial growth of Ge_xSi_1−x films (x≥0.4) allowed finding the basic mechanism of formation of edge dislocations that eliminate the mismatch stresses. Though the edge dislocations are defined as sessile dislocations, they are formed in accordance with the slipping mechanism proposed previously by Kvam et al. (1990). It is highly probable that a 60° misfit dislocation (MD) propagating by the slipping mechanism provokes the nucleation of a complementary 60° MD slipping in a mirror-like tilted plane (1 1 1). The reaction between these dislocations leads to the formation of an edge MD that ensures more effective reconciliation of the discrepancy. Comparative estimation of the slip velocities of the primary and induced 60° MDs and also of the resultant 90° MD is fulfilled. The slip velocity of the induced 60° MD is appreciably greater than the velocity of the primary 60° MD. Therefore, the induced MD “catches up” with the second front of the primary MD, thus forming a 90° MD propagating to both sides due to slipping of the 60° MDs forming it. The propagation velocity of the 90° MD is also greater than the slip velocity of a single 60° MD. For these reasons, 90° MDs under certain conditions that favor their formation and propagation can become the main defects responsible for plastic relaxation of GeSi films close to Ge in terms of their composition.     

Strain evolution of SiGe-on-insulator fabricated by germanium condensation method with over-oxidation

Strain evolutions of SiGe film during Ge condensation processes of SiGe on silicon-on-insulator were studied in detail with assistance of X-ray diffraction. At the beginning of Ge condensation, SiGe on silicon-on-insulator with low Ge fraction was oxidized at higher temperature of 1150 °C, the strong plastic deformation of buried SiO₂ and Si-Ge intermixing relieved most of the strain in SiGe with increasing Ge fraction. When temperature was reduced to 900 °C for oxidation of SiGe layer with higher Ge fraction, Ge accumulation overmatched Si-Ge inter-diffusion, resulting in non-uniform profile of Ge in SiGe layer. During this period, plastic deformation of buried SiO₂ can be neglected and dislocation gliding plays a significant role in relieving strain in SiGe, which enlarges the surface roughness. The strain in SiGe increases gradually with condensation time for the thickness of SiGe layer reduces close to its critical thickness, even with higher Ge fraction. Intensive over-oxidation of germanium-on-insulator materials was suggested to be effective to fully relax the compressive strain but should be precisely controlled to avoid surface deterioration.     

Materials study of silicon-on-lnsulator material by TEM

Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology addresses the need for many different device applications, such as radiation tolerant devices, high voltage, and three-dimensional circuitry applications. Isolated silicon epitaxy (ISE) is a commercialised process which results in excellent SOI material quality with proven results, having overcome most of the obstacles of other processes, although only having reduced, not eliminated, threading dislocations. The remaining isolated dislocations have been examined in detail by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). These have been diagnosed as normal lattice dislocations, with no faults or twins in the material. The nature, source, and behavior of the remaining dislocations is discussed.     

Partial dislocations and stacking faults in 4H-SiC PiN diodes

Using plan-view transmission electron microscopy (TEM), we have identified stacking faults (SFs) in 4H-SiC PiN diodes subjected to both light and heavy electrical bias. Our observations suggest that the widely expanded SFs seen after heavy bias are faulted dislocation loops that have expanded in response to strain of the 4H-SiC film, while faulted screw or 60° threading dislocations do not give rise to widely expanded SFs. Theoretical calculations show that the expansion of SFs depends on the Peach-Koehler (PK) forces on the partial dislocations bounding the SFs, indicating that strain plays a critical role in SF expansion.     

Continuum theory of dislocations revisited

The paper continues the discussion of continuum theory of dislocations suggested by Berdichevsky and Sedov (PMM 31(6): 981–1000, 1967). The major new points are: the choice of energy, the variational form of the governing dynamical equations, the variational principle for the final plastic state.     

Effects of interface dislocations on properties of ferroelectric thin films

Effects of interfacial dislocations on properties of thin-film ferroelectric materials, such as the self-polarization distribution, Curie temperature, dielectric constant and the switching behaviors, are investigated via the system dynamics based on the Landau-Devonshire functional. Dislocation generation in the film is found to reduce the overall self-polarization and the Curie temperature. The spatial variations are both very strong, particularly in the immediate neighborhood of the dislocation cores. In agreement with previous results based on a stationary model, a dead layer exists near the film/substrate interface, in which the average self-polarization is much reduced. Moreover, it is evident from our results that interface dislocations play an important role in suppressing the remnant polarization and the coercive field of the polarization.     

难熔元素W/Re对镍基单晶高温合金再结晶的影响

两种实验合金(DD00和DD0WR)被设计用于阐明难熔元素W/Re对镍基单晶高温合金再结晶行为的影响。对比DD00合金,加入W/Re的DD0WR合金的再结晶形核阶段被延长,晶粒长大速率减慢,这也意味着DD0WR合金的再结晶行为明显受到抑制。通过透射电镜(TEM)明场像观察,随着热处理时间地延长,DD0WR合金的位错密度消除得更慢。结合TEM中扫描透射电子显微探测器(STEM)和X射线能谱仪(EDS)观察发现,在DD0WR合金中,位错和晶界处有W/Re元素富集。据此可知,对于DD0WR合金,由于难熔元素W/Re在位错和晶界处富集,阻碍了位错运动和晶界迁移,有效地抑制了再结晶的发生。     

Large‐Scale Growth of Two‐Dimensional SnS2 Crystals Driven by Screw Dislocations and Application to Photodetectors

2D SnS₂ crystals are attracting increasing attention owning to the huge potential for electronic and optoelectronic applications. However, batch production of 2D SnS₂ crystals via a simple vapor process remains challenging by far. Moreover, the growth mechanism for vapor growth of 2D SnS₂ is not well documented as well. Herein, a simple approach is presented for preparation of large‐scale 2D SnS₂ crystals on mica sheets and it is demonstrated that these 2D crystals follow a screw‐dislocation‐driven (SDD) spiral growth process. The synthesized 2D crystals show hexagonal and truncated triangular shapes with the lateral size ranging from a few micrometers to dozens of micrometers. Observations of key features for screw dislocations, such as helical fringes, dislocation hillocks, and herringbone contours, solidly confirm the SDD spiral growth behavior of the SnS₂. Possible mechanism is proposed in this work to show the generation and propagation of screw dislocations. Furthermore, in order to explore the optoelectronic property of the SnS₂, photodetectors based on 2D SnS₂ crystals are fabricated. The resulting device shows excellent operating characteristics, including good photo‐stability and reproducibility as well as a fast photoresponse time (≈42 ms), which enable the SnS₂ a promising candidate for photodetectors.     

Strain hardening in bent copper foils

A series of systematic tensile and microbend tests were conducted on copper foil specimens with different thicknesses. The specimens were made of a copper foil having almost unidirectional crystal orientations that was considered to be nearly single-crystal. In order to investigate the effects of slip system interactions, two different crystal orientations relative to the tensile direction were considered in the tests: one is close to coplanar double-slip orientation, and the other is close to the ideal cube orientation (the tensile direction nearly coincides to [0 0 1]) that yields multi-planar multi-slip deformation. We extended the microbend test method to include the reversal of bending, and we attempted to divide the total amount of strain-hardening into isotropic and kinematic hardening components. In the tensile tests, no systematic tendency of size dependence was observed. In the microbend tests, size-dependent kinematic hardening behavior was observed for both the crystal orientations, while size dependence of isotropic hardening was observed only for the multi-planar multi-slip case. We introduce an extended crystal plasticity model that accounts for the effects of the geometrically necessary dislocations (GNDs), which correspond to the spatial gradients of crystallographic slips. Through numerical simulations performed using the model, the origin of the size-dependent behavior observed in the microbend tests is discussed.     

Dislocation structure of shear bands in single crystals

A mathematical model is proposed for the development of a shear band in crystals. The model is based on the mechanism of double cross-slips of screw-dislocation segments. Equations are derived to study instability of the uniform distribution of dislocations. A solution is found in the form of a traveling wave, which describes the shear-band structure. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 47, No. 6, pp. 102–113, November–December, 2006.