Model for threading dislocations in metamorphic tandem solar cells on GaAs (001) substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Yifei; Kujofsa, Tedi; Ayers, John E.

2018-02-01

We present an approximate model for the threading dislocations in III-V heterostructures and have applied this model to study the defect behavior in metamorphic triple-junction solar cells. This model represents a new approach in which the coefficient for second-order threading dislocation annihilation and coalescence reactions is considered to be determined by the length of misfit dislocations, LMD, in the structure, and we therefore refer to it as the LMD model. On the basis of this model we have compared the average threading dislocation densities in the active layers of triple junction solar cells using linearly-graded buffers of varying thicknesses as well as S-graded (complementary error function) buffers with varying thicknesses and standard deviation parameters. We have shown that the threading dislocation densities in the active regions of metamorphic tandem solar cells depend not only on the thicknesses of the buffer layers but on their compositional grading profiles. The use of S-graded buffer layers instead of linear buffers resulted in lower threading dislocation densities. Moreover, the threading dislocation densities depended strongly on the standard deviation parameters used in the S-graded buffers, with smaller values providing lower threading dislocation densities.

The role of frictional stress in misfit dislocation generation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jesser, William A.

1992-01-01

An evaluation is undertaken of the implications of the friction and frictionless models of misfit dislocation generation in view of: (1) experimental measurements of the critical thickness above which misfit dislocation generation occurs; and (2) the amount of strain relaxation that occurs as a function of layer thickness, time, and temperature. Some of the frictional force terms that were expected to exhibit a strong temperature dependence are shown to be independent of temperature.

Optoelectronics Material Center: A Collaborative Program Including Center for High Technology Materials of the University of New Mexico, Stanford University, California Institute of Technology

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-09-01

SI by Ion-Assisted Molecular Beam Enltaxy Currently there is considerable interest in misfit accommodation in hetero- epitaxy for integration of device...of misfit accommodation. In the last quarter, we have demonstrated, using ion-assisted molecular beam epitaxy : * Reduction of dislocation density in... beam epitaxy (MOMBE) hardware, and demonstration of state-of-the-art MOMBE AlGaAs (1990). MOCVD Materials Growth Facilities and Eauipment Extension to

Anisotropic scattering effect of the inclined misfit dislocation on the two-dimensional electron gas in Al(In)GaN/GaN heterostructures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jin, Dong-Dong; Department of Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084; Wang, Lian-shan, E-mail: ls-wang@semi.ac.cn

In this paper, a theory is developed to study the anisotropic scattering effect of the inclined misfit dislocation on the two-dimensional electron gas in Al(In)GaN/GaN heterostructures. The inclined misfit dislocation, which differs from the well-known vertical threading dislocation, has a remarkable tilt angle from the vertical. The predicted electron mobility shows a remarkable anisotropy. It has a maximum mobility value along the direction perpendicular to the projection of the inclined dislocation line, and a minimum mobility value along the direction parallel to the projection. The degree of the anisotropic scattering effect will be even greater with the increase of themore » tilt angle.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhou, T.Q.; Buczkowski, A.; Radzimski, Z.J.

The electrical activity of as-grown and intentionally decorated misfit dislocations in an epitaxial Si/Si(Ge) heterostructure was examined using the electron beam induced current (EBIC) technique in a scanning electron microscope. Misfit dislocations, which were not visible initially, were subsequently activated either by an unknown processing contaminant or a backside metallic impurity. Passivation of these contaminated dislocations was then studied using low energy deuterium ion implantation in a Kaufman ion source. EBIC results show that the recombination activity of the decorated misfit dislocations was dramatically reduced by the deuterium treatment. Although a front side passivation treatment was more effective than amore » backside treatment, a surface ion bombardment damage problem is still evident. 5 refs., 3 figs.« less

Molecular dynamics studies of InGaN growth on nonpolar (11 2 \\xAF0 ) GaN surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, K.; Gruber, J.; Zhou, X. W.; Jones, R. E.; Lee, S. R.; Tucker, G. J.

2018-01-01

We have performed direct molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of heteroepitaxial vapor deposition of I nxG a1 -xN films on nonpolar (11 2 ¯0 ) wurtzite-GaN surfaces to investigate strain relaxation by misfit-dislocation formation. The simulated growth is conducted on an atypically large scale by sequentially injecting nearly a million individual vapor-phase atoms towards a fixed GaN substrate. We apply time-and-position-dependent boundary constraints to affect the appropriate environments for the vapor phase, the near-surface solid phase, and the bulklike regions of the growing layer. The simulations employ a newly optimized Stillinger-Weber In-Ga-N system interatomic potential wherein multiple binary and ternary structures are included in the underlying density-functional theory and experimental training sets to improve the treatment of the In-Ga-N related interactions. To examine the effect of growth conditions, we study a matrix of 63 different MD-growth simulations spanning seven I nxG a1 -xN -alloy compositions ranging from x =0.0 to x =0.8 and nine growth temperatures above half the simulated melt temperature. We found a composition dependent temperature range where all kinetically trapped defects were eliminated, leaving only quasiequilibrium misfit and threading dislocations present in the simulated films. Based on the MD results obtained in this temperature range, we observe the formation of interfacial misfit and threading dislocation arrays with morphologies strikingly close to those seen in experiments. In addition, we compare the MD-observed thickness-dependent onset of misfit-dislocation formation to continuum-elasticity-theory models of the critical thickness and find reasonably good agreement. Finally, we use the three-dimensional atomistic details uniquely available in the MD-growth histories to directly observe the nucleation of dislocations at surface pits in the evolving free surface.

Critical thickness and strain relaxation in high-misfit heteroepitaxial systems: PbTe1-xSex on PbSe (001)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wiesauer, Karin; Springholz, G.

2004-06-01

Strain relaxation and misfit dislocation formation is investigated for the high-misfit PbTe1-xSex/PbSe (001) heteroepitaxial system in which the lattice mismatch varies from 0% to 5.5%. Because a two-dimensional (2D) layer growth prevails for all PbTe1-xSex ternary compositions, the lattice mismatch is relaxed purely by misfit dislocations. In addition, it is found that strain relaxation is not hindered by dislocation kinetics. Therefore, this material combination is an ideal model system for testing the equilibrium Frank van der Merwe and Matthews Blakeslee strain relaxation models. In our experiments, we find significantly lower values of the critical layer thickness as compared to the model predictions. This discrepancy is caused by the inappropriate description of the dislocation self-energies when the layer thickness becomes comparable to the dislocation core radius. To resolve this problem, a modified expression for the dislocation self-energy is proposed. The resulting theoretical critical thicknesses are in excellent agreement with the experimental data. In addition, a remarkable universal scaling behavior is found for the strain relaxation data. This underlines the breakdown of the current strain relaxation models.

Change in equilibrium position of misfit dislocations at the GaN/sapphire interface by Si-ion implantation into sapphire. II. Electron energy loss spectroscopic study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, Sung Bo, E-mail: bolee@snu.ac.kr; Han, Heung Nam, E-mail: hnhan@snu.ac.kr; Kim, Young-Min

In Part I, we have shown that the addition of Si into sapphire by ion implantationmakes the sapphire substrate elastically softer than for the undoped sapphire. The more compliant layer of the Si-implanted sapphire substrate can absorb the misfit stress at the GaN/sapphire interface, which produces a lower threading-dislocation density in the GaN overlayer. Here in Part II, based on experimental results by electron energy loss spectroscopy and a first-principle molecular orbital calculation in the literature, we suggest that the softening effect of Si results from a reduction of ionic bonding strength in sapphire (α-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}) with the substitutionmore » of Si for Al.« less

Low energy dislocation structures in epitaxy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Van Der Merwe, Jan H.; Woltersdorf, J.; Jesser, W. A.

1986-01-01

The principle of minimum energy was applied to epitaxial interfaces to show the interrelationship beteen misfit, overgrowth thickness and misfit dislocation spacing. The low energy dislocation configurations were presented for selected interfacial geometries. A review of the interfacial energy calculations was made and a critical assessment of the agreement between theory and experiment was presented. Modes of misfit accommodation were presented with emphasis on the distinction between kinetic effects and equilibrium conditions. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional overgrowths were treated together with interdiffusion-modified interfaces, and several models of interfacial structure were treated including the classical and the current models. The paper is concluded by indicating areas of needed investigation into interfacial structure.

Asymmetric, compressive, SiGe epilayers on Si grown by lateral liquid-phase epitaxy utilizing a distinction between dislocation nucleation and glide critical thicknesses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Reilly, Andrew J.; Quitoriano, Nathaniel

2018-01-01

Uniaxially strained Si1-xGex channels have been proposed as a solution for high mobility channels in next-generation MOSFETS to ensure continued device improvement as the benefits from further miniaturisation are diminishing. Previously proposed techniques to deposit uniaxially strained Si1-xGex epilayers on Si (0 0 1) substrates require multiple deposition steps and only yielded thin strips of uniaxially strained films. A lateral liquid-phase epitaxy (LLPE) technique was developed to deposit a blanket epilayer of asymmetrically strained Si97.4Ge2.6 on Si in a single step, where the epilayer was fully strained in the growth direction and 31% strain-relaxed in the orthogonal direction. The LLPE technique promoted the glide of misfit dislocations, which nucleated in a region with an orthogonal misfit dislocation network, into a region where the dislocation nucleation was inhibited. This created an array of parallel misfit dislocations which were the source of the asymmetric strain. By observing the thicknesses at which the dislocation network transitions from orthogonal to parallel and at which point dislocation glide is exhausted, the separate critical thicknesses for dislocation nucleation and dislocation glide can be determined.

On the mobility of carriers at semi-coherent oxide heterointerfaces

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dholabhai, Pratik P.; Martinez, Enrique Saez; Brown, Nicholas Taylor

In the quest to develop new materials with enhanced ionic conductivity for battery and fuel cell applications, nano-structured oxides have attracted attention. Experimental reports indicate that oxide heterointerfaces can lead to enhanced ionic conductivity, but these same reports cannot elucidate the origin of this enhancement, often vaguely referring to pipe diffusion at misfit dislocations as a potential explanation. However, this highlights the need to understand the role of misfit dislocation structure at semi-coherent oxide heterointerfaces in modifying carrier mobilities. Here, we use atomistic and kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) simulations to develop a model of oxygen vacancy migration at SrTiO 3/MgOmore » interfaces, chosen because the misfit dislocation structure can be modified by changing the termination chemistry. We use atomistic simulations to determine the energetics of oxygen vacancies at both SrO and TiO 2 terminated interfaces, which are then used as the basis of the KMC simulations. While this model is approximate (as revealed by select nudged elastic band calculations), it highlights the role of the misfit dislocation structure in modifying the oxygen vacancy dynamics. We find that oxygen vacancy mobility is significantly reduced at either interface, with slight differences at each interface due to the differing misfit dislocation structure. Here, we conclude that if such semi-coherent oxide heterointerfaces induce enhanced ionic conductivity, it is not a consequence of higher carrier mobility.« less

On the mobility of carriers at semi-coherent oxide heterointerfaces

DOE PAGES

Dholabhai, Pratik P.; Martinez, Enrique Saez; Brown, Nicholas Taylor; ...

2017-08-17

In the quest to develop new materials with enhanced ionic conductivity for battery and fuel cell applications, nano-structured oxides have attracted attention. Experimental reports indicate that oxide heterointerfaces can lead to enhanced ionic conductivity, but these same reports cannot elucidate the origin of this enhancement, often vaguely referring to pipe diffusion at misfit dislocations as a potential explanation. However, this highlights the need to understand the role of misfit dislocation structure at semi-coherent oxide heterointerfaces in modifying carrier mobilities. Here, we use atomistic and kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) simulations to develop a model of oxygen vacancy migration at SrTiO 3/MgOmore » interfaces, chosen because the misfit dislocation structure can be modified by changing the termination chemistry. We use atomistic simulations to determine the energetics of oxygen vacancies at both SrO and TiO 2 terminated interfaces, which are then used as the basis of the KMC simulations. While this model is approximate (as revealed by select nudged elastic band calculations), it highlights the role of the misfit dislocation structure in modifying the oxygen vacancy dynamics. We find that oxygen vacancy mobility is significantly reduced at either interface, with slight differences at each interface due to the differing misfit dislocation structure. Here, we conclude that if such semi-coherent oxide heterointerfaces induce enhanced ionic conductivity, it is not a consequence of higher carrier mobility.« less

Revisiting the Al/Al₂O₃ interface: coherent interfaces and misfit accommodation.

PubMed

Pilania, Ghanshyam; Thijsse, Barend J; Hoagland, Richard G; Lazić, Ivan; Valone, Steven M; Liu, Xiang-Yang

2014-03-27

We study the coherent and semi-coherent Al/α-Al2O3 interfaces using molecular dynamics simulations with a mixed, metallic-ionic atomistic model. For the coherent interfaces, both Al-terminated and O-terminated nonstoichiometric interfaces have been studied and their relative stability has been established. To understand the misfit accommodation at the semi-coherent interface, a 1-dimensional (1D) misfit dislocation model and a 2-dimensional (2D) dislocation network model have been studied. For the latter case, our analysis reveals an interface dislocation structure with a network of three sets of parallel dislocations, each with pure-edge character, giving rise to a pattern of coherent and stacking-fault-like regions at the interface. Structural relaxation at elevated temperatures leads to a further change of the dislocation pattern, which can be understood in terms of a competition between the stacking fault energy and the dislocation interaction energy at the interface. Our results are expected to serve as an input for the subsequent dislocation dynamics models to understand and predict the macroscopic mechanical behavior of Al/α-Al2O3 composite heterostructures.

Change in equilibrium position of misfit dislocations at the GaN/sapphire interface by Si-ion implantation into sapphire—I. Microstructural characterization

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, Sung Bo, E-mail: bolee@snu.ac.kr; Han, Heung Nam, E-mail: hnhan@snu.ac.kr; Lee, Dong Nyung

Much research has been done to reduce dislocation densities for the growth of GaN on sapphire, but has paid little attention to the elastic behavior at the GaN/sapphire interface. In this study, we have examined effects of the addition of Si to a sapphire substrate on its elastic property and on the growth of GaN deposit. Si atoms are added to a c-plane sapphire substrate by ion implantation. The ion implantation results in scratches on the surface, and concomitantly, inhomogeneous distribution of Si. The scratch regions contain a higher concentration of Si than other regions of the sapphire substrate surface,more » high-temperature GaN being poorly grown there. However, high-temperature GaN is normally grown in the other regions. The GaN overlayer in the normally-grown regions is observed to have a lower TD density than the deposit on the bare sapphire substrate (with no Si accommodated). As compared with the film on an untreated, bare sapphire, the cathodoluminescence defect density decreases by 60 % for the GaN layer normally deposited on the Si-ion implanted sapphire. As confirmed by a strain mapping technique by transmission electron microscopy (geometric phase analysis), the addition of Si in the normally deposited regions forms a surface layer in the sapphire elastically more compliant than the GaN overlayer. The results suggest that the layer can largely absorb the misfit strain at the interface, which produces the overlayer with a lower defect density. Our results highlight a direct correlation between threading-dislocation density in GaN deposits and the elastic behavior at the GaN/sapphire interface, opening up a new pathway to reduce threading-dislocation density in GaN deposits.« less

Massive Interfacial Reconstruction at Misfit Dislocations in Metal/Oxide Interfaces

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Choudhury, Samrat; Morgan, Dane; Uberuaga, Blas P.

Electronic structure calculations were performed to study the role of misfit dislocations on the structure and chemistry of a metal/oxide interface. We found that a chemical imbalance exists at the misfit dislocation which leads to dramatic changes in the point defect content at the interface – stabilizing the structure requires removing as much as 50% of the metal atoms and insertion of a large number of oxygen interstitials. The exact defect composition that stabilizes the interface is sensitive to the external oxygen partial pressure. We relate the preferred defect structure at the interface to a competition between chemical and strainmore » energies as defects are introduced.« less

Massive Interfacial Reconstruction at Misfit Dislocations in Metal/Oxide Interfaces

DOE PAGES

Choudhury, Samrat; Morgan, Dane; Uberuaga, Blas P.

2014-10-17

Electronic structure calculations were performed to study the role of misfit dislocations on the structure and chemistry of a metal/oxide interface. We found that a chemical imbalance exists at the misfit dislocation which leads to dramatic changes in the point defect content at the interface – stabilizing the structure requires removing as much as 50% of the metal atoms and insertion of a large number of oxygen interstitials. The exact defect composition that stabilizes the interface is sensitive to the external oxygen partial pressure. We relate the preferred defect structure at the interface to a competition between chemical and strainmore » energies as defects are introduced.« less

Growth and characterization of an InSb infrared photoconductor on Si via an AlSb/GaSb buffer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Bo Wen; Tan, Kian Hua; Loke, Wan Khai; Wicaksono, Satrio; Yoon, Soon Fatt

2018-05-01

A 99.6% relaxed InSb layer is grown on a 6° offcut (1 0 0) Si substrate via an AlSb/GaSb buffer using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). A 200 nm GaSb buffer is first grown on Si and the lattice mismatch between them is accommodated by an interfacial misfit (IMF) array consisting of uniformly distributed 90° misfit dislocations. Si delta doping is introduced during the growth of GaSb to reduce the density of threading dislocation. Subsequently, a 50 nm AlSb buffer is grown followed by a 0.8 μm InSb layer. The InSb layer exhibits a 300 K electron mobility of 22,300 cm2/Vs. An InSb photoconductor on Si is demonstrated with a photoconductive gain from 77 K to 200 K under a 700 °C maintained blackbody.

Revisiting the Al/Al 2O 3 Interface: Coherent Interfaces and Misfit Accommodation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pilania, Ghanshyam; Thijsse, Barend J.; Hoagland, Richard G.

We report the coherent and semi-coherent Al/α-Al 2O 3 interfaces using molecular dynamics simulations with a mixed, metallic-ionic atomistic model. For the coherent interfaces, both Al-terminated and O-terminated nonstoichiometric interfaces have been studied and their relative stability has been established. To understand the misfit accommodation at the semi-coherent interface, a 1-dimensional (1D) misfit dislocation model and a 2-dimensional (2D) dislocation network model have been studied. For the latter case, our analysis reveals an interface dislocation structure with a network of three sets of parallel dislocations, each with pure-edge character, giving rise to a pattern of coherent and stacking-fault-like regions atmore » the interface. Structural relaxation at elevated temperatures leads to a further change of the dislocation pattern, which can be understood in terms of a competition between the stacking fault energy and the dislocation interaction energy at the interface. In conclusion, our results are expected to serve as an input for the subsequent dislocation dynamics models to understand and predict the macroscopic mechanical behavior of Al/α-Al 2O 3 composite heterostructures.« less

Revisiting the Al/Al 2O 3 Interface: Coherent Interfaces and Misfit Accommodation

DOE PAGES

Pilania, Ghanshyam; Thijsse, Barend J.; Hoagland, Richard G.; ...

2014-03-27

We report the coherent and semi-coherent Al/α-Al 2O 3 interfaces using molecular dynamics simulations with a mixed, metallic-ionic atomistic model. For the coherent interfaces, both Al-terminated and O-terminated nonstoichiometric interfaces have been studied and their relative stability has been established. To understand the misfit accommodation at the semi-coherent interface, a 1-dimensional (1D) misfit dislocation model and a 2-dimensional (2D) dislocation network model have been studied. For the latter case, our analysis reveals an interface dislocation structure with a network of three sets of parallel dislocations, each with pure-edge character, giving rise to a pattern of coherent and stacking-fault-like regions atmore » the interface. Structural relaxation at elevated temperatures leads to a further change of the dislocation pattern, which can be understood in terms of a competition between the stacking fault energy and the dislocation interaction energy at the interface. In conclusion, our results are expected to serve as an input for the subsequent dislocation dynamics models to understand and predict the macroscopic mechanical behavior of Al/α-Al 2O 3 composite heterostructures.« less

The barrier to misfit dislocation glide in continuous, strained, epitaxial layers on patterned substrates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Watson, G.P.; Ast, D.G.; Anderson, T.J.

1993-09-01

In a previous report [G. P. Watson, D. G. Ast, T. J. Anderson, and Y. Hayakawa, Appl. Phys. Lett. [bold 58], 2517 (1991)] we demonstrated that the motion of misfit dislocations in InGaAs, grown by organometallic vapor phase epitaxy on patterned GaAs substrates, can be impeded even if the strained epitaxial layer is continuous. Trenches etched into GaAs before growth are known to act as a barrier to misfit dislocation propagation [E. A. Fitzgerald, G. P. Watson, R. E. Proano, D. G. Ast, P. D. Kirchner, G. D. Pettit, and J. M. Woodall, J. Appl. Phys. [bold 65], 2220 (1989)]more » when those trenches create discontinuities in the epitaxial layers; but even shallow trenches, with continuous strained layers following the surface features, can act as barriers. By considering the strain energy required to change the length of the dislocation glide segments that stretch from the interface to the free surface, a simple model is developed that explains the major features of the unique blocking action observed at the trench edges. The trench wall angle is found to be an important parameter in determining whether or not a trench will block dislocation glide. The predicted blocking angles are consistent with observations made on continuous 300 and 600 nm thick In[sub 0.04]Ga[sub 0.96]As films on patterned GaAs. Based on the model, a structure is proposed that may be used as a filter to yield misfit dislocations with identical Burgers vectors or dislocations which slip in only one glide plane.« less

Dislocation mechanisms in stressed crystals with surface effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Chi-Chin; Crone, Joshua; Munday, Lynn; Discrete Dislocation Dynamics Team

2014-03-01

Understanding dislocation properties in stressed crystals is the key for important processes in materials science, including the strengthening of metals and the stress relaxation during the growth of hetero-epitaxial structures. Despite existing experimental approaches and theories, many dislocation mechanisms with surface effects still remain elusive in experiments. Even though discrete dislocation dynamics (DDD) simulations are commonly employed to study dislocations, few demonstrate sufficient computational capabilities for massive dislocations with the combined effects of surfaces and stresses. Utilizing the Army's newly developed FED3 code, a DDD computation code coupled with finite elements, this work presents several dislocation mechanisms near different types of surfaces in finite domains. Our simulation models include dislocations in a bended metallic cantilever beam, near voids in stressed metals, as well as threading and misfit dislocations in as-grown semiconductor epitaxial layers and their quantitative inter-correlations to stress relaxation and surface instability. Our studies provide not only detailed physics of individual dislocation mechanisms, but also important collective dislocation properties such as dislocation densities and strain-stress profiles and their interactions with surfaces.

Misfit dislocation gettering by substrate pit-patterning in SiGe films on Si(001)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Grydlik, Martyna; Groiss, Heiko; Brehm, Moritz

2012-07-02

We show that suitable pit-patterning of a Si(001) substrate can strongly influence the nucleation and the propagation of dislocations during epitaxial deposition of Si-rich Si{sub 1-x}Ge{sub x} alloys, preferentially gettering misfit segments along pit rows. In particular, for a 250 nm layer deposited by molecular beam epitaxy at x{sub Ge} = 15%, extended film regions appear free of dislocations, by atomic force microscopy, as confirmed by transmission electron microscopy sampling. This result is quite general, as explained by dislocation dynamics simulations, which reveal the key role of the inhomogeneous distribution in stress produced by the pit-patterning.

Misfit stress relaxation in composite core-shell nanowires with parallelepiped cores using rectangular prismatic dislocation loops

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krasnitckii, S. A.; Kolomoetc, D. R.; Smirnov, A. M.; Gutkin, M. Yu

2018-03-01

The misfit stress relaxation via generation of rectangular prismatic dislocation loops at the interface in core-shell nanowires is considered. The core has the shape of a long parallelepiped of a square cross-section. The energy change caused by loop generation in such nanowires is calculated. Critical conditions for the onset of such loops are calculated and analyzed.

Method for reducing or eliminating interface defects in mismatched semiconductor epilayers

DOEpatents

Fitzgerald, Jr., Eugene A.; Ast, Dieter G.

1992-01-01

The present invention and process relates to crystal lattice mismatched semiconductor composite having a first semiconductor layer and a second semiconductor growth layer deposited thereon to form an interface wherein the growth layer can be deposited at thicknesses in excess of the critical thickness, even up to about 10.times. critical thickness. Such composite has an interface which is substantially free of interface defects. For example, the size of the growth areas in a mismatched In.sub.0.05 Ga.sub.0.95 As/(001)GaAs interface was controlled by fabricating 2-.mu.m high pillars of various lateral geometries and lateral dimensions before the epitaxial deposition of 3500.ANG. of In.sub.0.05 Ga.sub.0.95 As. The linear dislocation density at the interface was reduced from >5000 dislocations/cm to about zero for 25-.mu.m lateral dimensions and to less than 800 dislocations/cm for lateral dimensions as large as 100 .mu.m. The fabricated pillars control the lateral dimensions of the growth layer and block the glide of misfit dislocations with the resultant decrease in dislocation density.

Method for reducing or eliminating interface defects in mismatched semiconductor eiplayers

DOEpatents

Fitzgerald, Jr., Eugene A.; Ast, Dieter G.

1991-01-01

The present invention and process relates to crystal lattice mismatched semiconductor composite having a first semiconductor layer and a second semiconductor growth layer deposited thereon to form an interface wherein the growth layer can be deposited at thicknesses in excess of the critical thickness, even up to about 10x critical thickness. Such composite has an interface which is substantially free of interface defects. For example, the size of the growth areas in a mismatched In.sub.0.05 Ga.sub.0.95 As/(001)GaAs interface was controlled by fabricating 2-.mu.m high pillars of various lateral geometries and lateral dimensions before the epitaxial deposition of 3500.ANG. of In.sub.0.05 Ga.sub.0.95 As. The linear dislocation density at the interface was reduced from >5000 dislocations/cm to about zero for 25-.mu.m lateral dimensions and to less than 800 dislocations/cm for lateral dimensions as large as 100 .mu.m. The fabricated pillars control the lateral dimensions of the growth layer and block the glide of misfit dislocations with the resultant decrease in dislocation density.

Method for reducing or eliminating interface defects in mismatched semiconductor epilayers

DOEpatents

Fitzgerald, E.A. Jr.; Ast, D.G.

1992-10-20

The present invention and process relates to crystal lattice mismatched semiconductor composite having a first semiconductor layer and a second semiconductor growth layer deposited thereon to form an interface wherein the growth layer can be deposited at thicknesses in excess of the critical thickness, even up to about 10[times] critical thickness. Such composite has an interface which is substantially free of interface defects. For example, the size of the growth areas in a mismatched In[sub 0.05]Ga[sub 0.95]As/(001)GaAs interface was controlled by fabricating 2-[mu]m high pillars of various lateral geometries and lateral dimensions before the epitaxial deposition of 3500 [angstrom] of In[sub 0.05]Ga[sub 0.95]As. The linear dislocation density at the interface was reduced from >5000 dislocations/cm to about zero for 25-[mu]m lateral dimensions and to less than 800 dislocations/cm for lateral dimensions as large as 100 [mu]m. The fabricated pillars control the lateral dimensions of the growth layer and block the glide of misfit dislocations with the resultant decrease in dislocation density. 7 figs.

Proposition of a model elucidating the AlN-on-Si (111) microstructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mante, N.; Rennesson, S.; Frayssinet, E.; Largeau, L.; Semond, F.; Rouvière, J. L.; Feuillet, G.; Vennéguès, P.

2018-06-01

AlN-on-Si can be considered as a model system for heteroepitaxial growth of highly mismatched materials. Indeed, AlN and Si drastically differ in terms of chemistry, crystalline structure, and lattice parameters. In this paper, we present a transmission electron microscopy and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction study of the microstructure of AlN layers epitaxially grown on Si (111) by molecular beam epitaxy. The large interfacial energy due to the dissimilarities between AlN and Si results in a 3D Volmer-Weber growth mode with the nucleation of independent and relaxed AlN islands. Despite a well-defined epitaxial relationship, these islands exhibit in-plane misorientations up to 6°-7°. We propose a model which quantitatively explains these misorientations by taking into account the relaxation of the islands through the introduction of 60° a-type misfit dislocations. Threading dislocations (TDs) are formed to compensate these misorientations when islands coalesce. TD density depends on two parameters: the islands' misorientation and density. We show that the former is related to the mismatch between AlN and Si, while the latter depends on the growth parameters. A large decrease in TD density occurs during the 3D growth stage by overlap and overgrowth of highly misoriented islands. On the other hand, the TD density does not change significantly when the growth becomes 2D. The proposed model, explaining the misorientations of 3D-grown islands, may be extended to other (0001)-oriented III-nitrides and more generally to any heteroepitaxial system exhibiting a 3D Volmer-Weber growth mode with islands relaxed thanks to the introduction of mixed-type misfit dislocations.

Effect of an in-situ thermal annealing on the structural properties of self-assembled GaSb/GaAs quantum dots

DOE PAGES

Fernandez-Delgado, N.; Herrera, M.; Chisholm, M. F.; ...

2016-04-22

The effect of the application of a thermal annealing on the structural properties of GaSb/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) is analyzed by aberration corrected high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). Our results show that the GaSb/GaAs QDs are more elongated after the annealing, and that the interfaces are less abrupt due to the Sb diffusion. We have also found a strong reduction in the misfit dislocation density with the annealing. The analysis by EELS of a threading dislocation has shown that the dislocation core is rich in Sb. In addition, the region ofmore » the GaAs substrate delimited by the threading dislocation is shown to be Sb-rich as well. An enhanced diffusion of Sb due to a mechanism assisted by the dislocation movement is discussed.« less

Influence of misfit stresses on dislocation glide in single crystal superalloys: A three-dimensional discrete dislocation dynamics study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Siwen; Fivel, Marc; Ma, Anxin; Hartmaier, Alexander

2015-03-01

In the characteristic γ / γ ‧ microstructure of single crystal superalloys, misfit stresses occur due to a significant lattice mismatch of those two phases. The magnitude of this lattice mismatch depends on the chemical composition of both phases as well as on temperature. Furthermore, the lattice mismatch of γ and γ ‧ phases can be either positive or negative in sign. The internal stresses caused by such lattice mismatch play a decisive role for the micromechanical processes that lead to the observed macroscopic athermal deformation behavior of these high-temperature alloys. Three-dimensional discrete dislocation dynamics (DDD) simulations are applied to investigate dislocation glide in γ matrix channels and shearing of γ ‧ precipitates by superdislocations under externally applied uniaxial stresses, by fully taking into account internal misfit stresses. Misfit stress fields are calculated by the fast Fourier transformation (FFT) method and hybridized with DDD simulations. For external loading along the crystallographic [001] direction of the single crystal, it was found that the different internal stress states for negative and positive lattice mismatch result in non-uniform dislocation movement and different dislocation patterns in horizontal and vertical γ matrix channels. Furthermore, positive lattice mismatch produces a lower deformation rate than negative lattice mismatch under the same tensile loading, but for an increasing magnitude of lattice mismatch, the deformation resistance always diminishes. Hence, the best deformation performance is expected to result from alloys with either small positive, or even better, vanishing lattice mismatch between γ and γ ‧ phase.

Ultralow threading dislocation density in GaN epilayer on near-strain-free GaN compliant buffer layer and its applications in hetero-epitaxial LEDs.

PubMed

Shih, Huan-Yu; Shiojiri, Makoto; Chen, Ching-Hsiang; Yu, Sheng-Fu; Ko, Chung-Ting; Yang, Jer-Ren; Lin, Ray-Ming; Chen, Miin-Jang

2015-09-02

High threading dislocation (TD) density in GaN-based devices is a long unresolved problem because of the large lattice mismatch between GaN and the substrate, which causes a major obstacle for the further improvement of next-generation high-efficiency solid-state lighting and high-power electronics. Here, we report InGaN/GaN LEDs with ultralow TD density and improved efficiency on a sapphire substrate, on which a near strain-free GaN compliant buffer layer was grown by remote plasma atomic layer deposition. This "compliant" buffer layer is capable of relaxing strain due to the absorption of misfit dislocations in a region within ~10 nm from the interface, leading to a high-quality overlying GaN epilayer with an unusual TD density as low as 2.2 × 10(5) cm(-2). In addition, this GaN compliant buffer layer exhibits excellent uniformity up to a 6" wafer, revealing a promising means to realize large-area GaN hetero-epitaxy for efficient LEDs and high-power transistors.

Three-dimensional interaction and movements of various dislocations in anisotropic bicrystals with semicoherent interfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vattré, A.; Pan, E.

2018-07-01

Lattice dislocation interactions with semicoherent interfaces are investigated by means of anisotropic field solutions in metallic homo- and hetero-structures. The present framework is based on the mathematically elegant and computationally powerful Stroh formalism, combining further with the Fourier integral and series transforms, which cover different shapes and dimensions of various extrinsic and intrinsic dislocations. Two-dimensional equi-spaced arrays of straight lattice dislocations and finite arrangements of piled-up dislocations as well as any polygonal and elliptical dislocation loops in three dimensions are considered using a superposition scheme. Self, image and Peach-Koehler forces are derived to compute the equilibrium dislocation positions in pile-ups, including the internal structures and energetics of the interfacial dislocation networks. For illustration, the effects due to the elastic and misfit mismatches are discussed in the pure misfit Au/Cu and heterophase Cu/Nb systems, while discrepancies resulting from the approximation of isotropic elasticity are clearly exhibited. These numerical examples not only feature and enhance the existing works in anisotropic bimaterials, but also promote a novel opportunity of analyzing the equilibrium shapes of planar glide dislocation loops at nanoscale.

Anisotropic strain relaxation of Si-doped metamorphic InAlAs graded buffers on InP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Yi; Zhang, Yonggang; Chen, Xingyou; Ma, Yingjie; Zheng, Yuanliao; Du, Ben; Zhang, Jian

2017-09-01

The effects of Si doping on the strain relaxation of InP-based metamorphic In x Al1-x As graded buffers have been investigated. The highly Si-doped sample shows an increased ridge period along the [1 1 0] direction in the cross-hatch morphology measured by atomic force microscope. X-ray diffraction reciprocal space mapping measurements reveal that the high Si-doping induced incomplete relaxation as well as inhomogeneous residual strain along the [1 -1 0] direction, which was also observed in micro-Raman measurements. The anisotropic strain relaxation is attributed to the Si-doping enhanced anisotropy of misfit dislocations along the orthogonal directions. The α-misfit dislocations along the [1 -1 0] direction are further delayed to generate in highly Si-doped InAlAs buffer, while the β-misfit dislocations along the [1 1 0] direction are not. These results supply useful suggestions on the design and demonstration of semiconductor metamorphic devices.

Ultralow threading dislocation density in GaN epilayer on near-strain-free GaN compliant buffer layer and its applications in hetero-epitaxial LEDs

PubMed Central

Shih, Huan-Yu; Shiojiri, Makoto; Chen, Ching-Hsiang; Yu, Sheng-Fu; Ko, Chung-Ting; Yang, Jer-Ren; Lin, Ray-Ming; Chen, Miin-Jang

2015-01-01

High threading dislocation (TD) density in GaN-based devices is a long unresolved problem because of the large lattice mismatch between GaN and the substrate, which causes a major obstacle for the further improvement of next-generation high-efficiency solid-state lighting and high-power electronics. Here, we report InGaN/GaN LEDs with ultralow TD density and improved efficiency on a sapphire substrate, on which a near strain-free GaN compliant buffer layer was grown by remote plasma atomic layer deposition. This “compliant” buffer layer is capable of relaxing strain due to the absorption of misfit dislocations in a region within ~10 nm from the interface, leading to a high-quality overlying GaN epilayer with an unusual TD density as low as 2.2 × 105 cm−2. In addition, this GaN compliant buffer layer exhibits excellent uniformity up to a 6” wafer, revealing a promising means to realize large-area GaN hetero-epitaxy for efficient LEDs and high-power transistors. PMID:26329829

Lattice-Mismatch-Induced Oscillatory Feature Size and Its Impact on the Physical Limitation of Grain Size

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Jinyu; Li, Huihui; Dong, Kaifeng; Li, Run-Wei; Peng, Yingguo; Ju, Ganping; Hu, Jiangfeng; Chow, Gan Moog; Chen, Jingsheng

2018-03-01

We find that the misfit strain may lead to the oscillatory size distributions of heteroepitaxial nanostructures. In heteroepitaxial FePt thin films grown on single-crystal MgO substrate, ⟨110 ⟩ -oriented mazelike and granular patterns with "quantized" feature sizes are realized in scanning-electron-microscope images. The physical mechanism responsible for the size oscillations is related to the oscillatory nature of the misfit strain energy in the domain-matching epitaxial FePt /MgO system, which is observed by transmission electron microscopy. Based on the experimental observations, a model is built and the results suggest that when the FePt island sizes are an integer times the misfit dislocation period, the misfit strain can be completely canceled by the misfit dislocations. With applying the mechanism, small and uniform grain is obtained on the TiN (200) polycrystalline underlayer, which is suitable for practical application. This finding may offer a way to synthesize nanostructured materials with well-controlled size and size distribution by tuning the lattice mismatch between the epitaxial-grown heterostructure.

Microplastic flow in SIC/AL composites

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shi, N.; Arsenault, R.J.

Experimentally it has been determined that if a composite containing a reinforcement which has a different (in general lower) thermal coefficient of expansion as compared to the matrix, then upon cooling from the processing or annealing temperature, plastic relaxation of the misfit strain will occur. Also, experimentally it has been shown that as the size of the reinforcement is increased, i.e., from small spheres to large spheres, there is a decrease in the summation of the effective plastic strain in the matrix. In other words there is a decrease in the average dislocation density in the matrix. However, if themore » shape of the reinforcement is changed from spherical to short fiber to continuous filament, then the dislocation density increases. This experimental data is obtained at a constant volume fraction. A very simple model of plastic relaxation based on prismatic punching of dislocations from the interface can account for the decrease in the dislocation density with an increase reinforcement size, and the increase in dislocation density when changing the shape from a sphere to a continuous filament. A FEM analysis of the shape factor is also capable of predicting the correct trend. However, at present the continuum mechanics methods that have been investigated can not predict the size dependence. A simple model to explain the size effect in Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/NiAl composites based on the deformation characteristics of NiAl will be discussed.« less

Molecular dynamics study on the evolution of interfacial dislocation network and mechanical properties of Ni-based single crystal superalloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Nan-Lin; Wu, Wen-Ping; Nie, Kai

2018-05-01

The evolution of misfit dislocation network at γ /γ‧ phase interface and tensile mechanical properties of Ni-based single crystal superalloys at various temperatures and strain rates are studied by using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. From the simulations, it is found that with the increase of loading, the dislocation network effectively inhibits dislocations emitted in the γ matrix cutting into the γ‧ phase and absorbs the matrix dislocations to strengthen itself which increases the stability of structure. Under the influence of the temperature, the initial mosaic structure of dislocation network gradually becomes irregular, and the initial misfit stress and the elastic modulus slowly decline as temperature increasing. On the other hand, with the increase of the strain rate, it almost has no effect on the elastic modulus and the way of evolution of dislocation network, but contributes to the increases of the yield stress and tensile strength. Moreover, tension-compression asymmetry of Ni-based single crystal superalloys is also presented based on MD simulations.

Compositionally graded relaxed AlGaN buffers on semipolar GaN for mid-ultraviolet emission

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Young, Erin C.; Wu Feng; Haeger, Daniel A.

In this Letter, we report on the growth and properties of relaxed, compositionally graded Al{sub x}Ga{sub 1-x}N buffer layers on freestanding semipolar (2021) GaN substrates. Continuous and step compositional grades with Al concentrations up to x = 0.61 have been achieved, with emission wavelengths in the mid-ultraviolet region as low as 265 nm. Coherency stresses were relaxed progressively throughout the grades by misfit dislocation generation via primary (basal) slip and secondary (non-basal) slip systems. Threading dislocation densities in the final layers of the grades were less than 10{sup 6}/cm{sup 2} as confirmed by plan-view transmission electron microscopy and cathodoluminescence studies.

Compositionally graded relaxed AlGaN buffers on semipolar GaN for mid-ultraviolet emission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Young, Erin C.; Wu, Feng; Romanov, Alexey E.; Haeger, Daniel A.; Nakamura, Shuji; Denbaars, Steven P.; Cohen, Daniel A.; Speck, James S.

2012-10-01

In this Letter, we report on the growth and properties of relaxed, compositionally graded AlxGa1 - xN buffer layers on freestanding semipolar (202¯1) GaN substrates. Continuous and step compositional grades with Al concentrations up to x = 0.61 have been achieved, with emission wavelengths in the mid-ultraviolet region as low as 265 nm. Coherency stresses were relaxed progressively throughout the grades by misfit dislocation generation via primary (basal) slip and secondary (non-basal) slip systems. Threading dislocation densities in the final layers of the grades were less than 106/cm2 as confirmed by plan-view transmission electron microscopy and cathodoluminescence studies.

Recent Results from Epitaxial Growth on Step Free 4H-SiC Mesas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neudeck, Philip G.; Trunek, Andrew J.; Spry, David J.; Powell, J. Anthony; Du, Hui; Skowronski, Marek; Bassim, Nabil D.; Mastro, Michael A.; Twigg, Mark E.; Holm, Ronald T.;

Epitaxial relationship of semipolar s-plane (1101) InN grown on r-plane sapphire

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dimitrakopulos, G. P.

2012-07-02

The heteroepitaxy of semipolar s-plane (1101) InN grown directly on r-plane sapphire by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy is studied using transmission electron microscopy techniques. The epitaxial relationship is determined to be (1101){sub InN} Parallel-To (1102){sub Al{sub 2O{sub 3}}}, [1120]{sub InN} Parallel-To [2021]{sub Al{sub 2O{sub 3}}}, [1102]{sub InN}{approx} Parallel-To [0221]{sub Al{sub 2O{sub 3}}}, which ensures a 0.7% misfit along [1120]{sub InN}. Two orientation variants are identified. Proposed geometrical factors contributing to the high density of basal stacking faults, partial dislocations, and sphalerite cubic pockets include the misfit accommodation and reduction, as well as the accommodation of lattice twist.

Propagation of misfit dislocations from buffer/Si interface into Si

DOEpatents

Liliental-Weber, Zuzanna [El Sobrante, CA; Maltez, Rogerio Luis [Porto Alegre, BR; Morkoc, Hadis [Richmond, VA; Xie, Jinqiao [Raleigh, VA

2011-08-30

Misfit dislocations are redirected from the buffer/Si interface and propagated to the Si substrate due to the formation of bubbles in the substrate. The buffer layer growth process is generally a thermal process that also accomplishes annealing of the Si substrate so that bubbles of the implanted ion species are formed in the Si at an appropriate distance from the buffer/Si interface so that the bubbles will not migrate to the Si surface during annealing, but are close enough to the interface so that a strain field around the bubbles will be sensed by dislocations at the buffer/Si interface and dislocations are attracted by the strain field caused by the bubbles and move into the Si substrate instead of into the buffer epi-layer. Fabrication of improved integrated devices based on GaN and Si, such as continuous wave (CW) lasers and light emitting diodes, at reduced cost is thereby enabled.

Control of metamorphic buffer structure and device performance of In(x)Ga(1-x)As epitaxial layers fabricated by metal organic chemical vapor deposition.

PubMed

Nguyen, H Q; Yu, H W; Luc, Q H; Tang, Y Z; Phan, V T H; Hsu, C H; Chang, E Y; Tseng, Y C

2014-12-05

Using a step-graded (SG) buffer structure via metal-organic chemical vapor deposition, we demonstrate a high suitability of In0.5Ga0.5As epitaxial layers on a GaAs substrate for electronic device application. Taking advantage of the technique's precise control, we were able to increase the number of SG layers to achieve a fairly low dislocation density (∼10(6) cm(-2)), while keeping each individual SG layer slightly exceeding the critical thickness (∼80 nm) for strain relaxation. This met the demanded but contradictory requirements, and even offered excellent scalability by lowering the whole buffer structure down to 2.3 μm. This scalability overwhelmingly excels the forefront studies. The effects of the SG misfit strain on the crystal quality and surface morphology of In0.5Ga0.5As epitaxial layers were carefully investigated, and were correlated to threading dislocation (TD) blocking mechanisms. From microstructural analyses, TDs can be blocked effectively through self-annihilation reactions, or hindered randomly by misfit dislocation mechanisms. Growth conditions for avoiding phase separation were also explored and identified. The buffer-improved, high-quality In0.5Ga0.5As epitaxial layers enabled a high-performance, metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitor on a GaAs substrate. The devices displayed remarkable capacitance-voltage responses with small frequency dispersion. A promising interface trap density of 3 × 10(12) eV(-1) cm(-2) in a conductance test was also obtained. These electrical performances are competitive to those using lattice-coherent but pricey InGaAs/InP systems.

Highly luminescent, high-indium-content InGaN film with uniform composition and full misfit-strain relaxation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fischer, A. M.; Wei, Y. O.; Ponce, F. A.; Moseley, M.; Gunning, B.; Doolittle, W. A.

2013-09-01

We have studied the properties of thick InxGa1-xN films, with indium content ranging from x ˜ 0.22 to 0.67, grown by metal-modulated epitaxy. While the low indium-content films exhibit high density of stacking faults and dislocations, a significant improvement in the crystalline quality and optical properties has been observed starting at x ˜ 0.6. Surprisingly, the InxGa1-xN film with x ˜ 0.67 exhibits high luminescence intensity, low defect density, and uniform full lattice-mismatch strain relaxation. The efficient strain relaxation is shown to be due to a critical thickness close to the monolayer range. These films were grown at low temperatures (˜400 °C) to facilitate indium incorporation and with precursor modulation to enhance surface morphology and metal adlayer diffusion. These findings should contribute to the development of growth techniques for nitride semiconductors under high lattice misfit conditions.

Dislocation-driven growth of two-dimensional lateral quantum-well superlattices

PubMed Central

Chen, Jianyi; Li, Dongdong

2018-01-01

The advent of two-dimensional (2D) materials has led to extensive studies of heterostructures for novel applications. 2D lateral multiheterojunctions and superlattices have been recently demonstrated, but the available growth methods can only produce features with widths in the micrometer or, at best, 100-nm scale and usually result in rough and defective interfaces with extensive chemical intermixing. Widths smaller than 5 nm, which are needed for quantum confinement effects and quantum-well applications, have not been achieved. We demonstrate the growth of sub–2-nm quantum-well arrays in semiconductor monolayers, driven by the climb of misfit dislocations in a lattice-mismatched sulfide/selenide heterointerface. Density functional theory calculations provide an atom-by-atom description of the growth mechanism. The calculated energy bands reveal type II alignment suitable for quantum wells, suggesting that the structure could, in principle, be turned into a “conduit” of conductive nanoribbons for interconnects in future 2D integrated circuits via n-type modulation doping. This misfit dislocation–driven growth can be applied to different combinations of 2D monolayers with lattice mismatch, paving the way to a wide range of 2D quantum-well superlattices with controllable band alignment and nanoscale width. PMID:29740600

Investigation of the asymmetric misfit dislocation morphology in epitaxial layers with the zinc-blende structure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fox, Bradley A.; Jesser, William A.

1990-01-01

The source of the asymmetry in the dislocation morphology exhibited in the epitaxial growth of compound semiconductors on (100) was investigated. A thickness wedge of p- and n-type GaAs(0.95)P(0.05) was grown on GaAs by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition, and the effect of misorientation on the resolved shear stress for each slip system was calculated and eliminated as the source of the asymmetry. Another potential source of asymmetry, the thickness gradient, was also eliminated. Results show that the substrate misorientation and the thickness gradient do not significantly contribute to the asymmetry and that the dominant contributor to the asymmetry of misfit dislocations in the (001) epitaxial interface can be attributed to the differences in the Peierls barriers between the two types of dilocations in GaAsP/GaAs.

Origins of interlayer formation and misfit dislocation displacement in the vicinity of InAs/GaAs quantum dots

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Huang, S.; Kim, S. J.; Pan, X. Q.

We have examined the origins of interlayer formation and misfit dislocation (MD) displacement in the vicinity of InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs). For QDs formed by the Stranski-Krastanov mode, regularly spaced MDs nucleate at the interface between the QD and the GaAs buffer layer. In the droplet epitaxy case, both In island formation and In-induced “nano-drilling” of the GaAs buffer layer are observed during In deposition. Upon annealing under As flux, the In islands are converted to InAs QDs, with an InGaAs interlayer at the QD/buffer interface. Meanwhile, MDs nucleate at the QD/interlayer interface.

The effect of realistic forces in finite epitaxial islands: Equilibrium structure, stability limits and substrate-induced dissociation of migrating clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Milchev, Andrey; Markov, Ivan

1985-06-01

The behaviour of finite epitaxial islands in the periodic field of the substrate is theoretically investigated. The harmonic interactions, traditionally adopted in the model of Frank and Van der Merwe, are replaced by Toda and Morse potentials and sets of difference recursion equations, governing the equilibrium properties of the system, are derived and solved numerically. It is shown that allowing for anharmonicity in the interactions in the deposit reveals several qualiatively new effects, such as: (1) The existence of substrate-induced rupture of anharmonic clusters which migrate on the substrate. It is predicted that such dissociation should be enhanced, if (a) the energy barrier for surface diffusion is increased, (b) the natural incompatibility between substrate and deposit is decreased, and (c) the size of the clusters grows. (2) A split in the misfit stability limits for pseudomorphism and for spontaneous generation of misfit dislocations with respect to the sign of the misfit. The limits corresponding to negative misfit rapidly increase while the positive misfit limits decrease (in absolute terms) with growing degree of anharmonicity. (3) A marked asymmetry in the magnitude of various properties of the clusters, such as adhesion to the substrate, activation energy for surface diffusion, mean strain, dislocation lengths, etc., with respect to the sign of the mismatch between surface and deposit.

Misfit strain relaxation in (Ba0.60Sr0.40)TiO3 epitaxial thin films on orthorhombic NdGaO3 substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simon, W. K.; Akdogan, E. K.; Safari, A.

2006-07-01

Strain relaxation in (Ba0.60Sr0.40)TiO3 (BST) thin films on ⟨110⟩ orthorhombic NdGaO3 substrates is investigated by x-ray diffractometry. Pole figure analysis indicates a [010]BST∥[1¯10]NGO and [001]BST∥[001]NGO in-plane and [100]BST∥[100]NGO out-of-plane epitaxial relationship. The residual strains are relaxed at h ˜200nm, and for h >600nm, films are essentially strain free. Two independent dislocations mechanisms operate to relieve the anisotropic misfit strains along the principal directions. The critical thickness for misfit dislocation formation along [001] and [010] are 11 and 15nm, respectively. Stress analysis indicates deviation from linear elasticity for h <200. The films with 10

Demonstrating antiphase domain boundary-free GaAs buffer layer on zero off-cut Si (0 0 1) substrate for interfacial misfit dislocation GaSb film by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ha, Minh Thien Huu; Hoang Huynh, Sa; Binh Do, Huy; Nguyen, Tuan Anh; Luc, Quang Ho; Chang, Edward Yi

2017-08-01

High quality 40 nm GaSb thin film was grown on the zero off-cut Si (0 0 1)-oriented substrate using metalorganic chemical vapor deposition with the temperature-graded GaAs buffer layer. The growth time of the GaAs nucleation layer, which was deposited at a low temperature of 490 °C, is systematically investigated in this paper. Cross-sections of the high resolution transmission electron microscopy images indicate that the GaAs compound formed 3D-islands first before to quasi-2D islands, and finally formed uniform GaAs layer. The optimum thickness of the 490 °C-GaAs layer was found to be 10 nm to suppress the formation of antiphase domain boundaries (APDs). The thin GaAs nucleation layer had a root-mean-square surface roughness of 0.483 nm. This allows the continued high temperature GaAs buffer layer to be achieved with low threading dislocation density of around 7.1  ×  106 cm-2 and almost invisible APDs. Finally, a fully relaxed GaSb film was grown on the top of the GaAs/Si heterostructure using interfacial misfit dislocation growth mode. These results indicate that the GaSb epitaxial layer can be grown on Si substrate with GaAs buffer layer for future p-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) applications.

Analytical model of the effect of misfit dislocation character on the bubble-to-void transition in metals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Martínez, Enrique; Schwen, Daniel; Hetherly, Jeffrey

Here, this paper addresses the role of misfit dislocations in the nucleation and growth of nanoscale He bubbles at interfaces. In a recent work, we studied the nanoscale effects on the capillarity equation and on equilibrium conditions. We proposed an expression for surface energy and for the equation of state, EOS, for He in bubbles, which have a size dependence that captures the role of the interface forces, which become relevant at the nanoscale. Here we determine the EOS for several twist grain boundaries in Fe and Cu and incorporate these results into the rate equation that determines the bubble-to-voidmore » transition, focusing on the influence of interface dislocations on the evaporation rate of vacancies. We find a significant effect of the magnitude of the Burgers vector of the dislocations on the critical radius for the transition. In conclusion, these results give a quantitative way to characterize grain boundaries in their ability to capture He and alter the onset of swelling.« less

Analytical model of the effect of misfit dislocation character on the bubble-to-void transition in metals

DOE PAGES

Martínez, Enrique; Schwen, Daniel; Hetherly, Jeffrey; ...

2015-11-30

Here, this paper addresses the role of misfit dislocations in the nucleation and growth of nanoscale He bubbles at interfaces. In a recent work, we studied the nanoscale effects on the capillarity equation and on equilibrium conditions. We proposed an expression for surface energy and for the equation of state, EOS, for He in bubbles, which have a size dependence that captures the role of the interface forces, which become relevant at the nanoscale. Here we determine the EOS for several twist grain boundaries in Fe and Cu and incorporate these results into the rate equation that determines the bubble-to-voidmore » transition, focusing on the influence of interface dislocations on the evaporation rate of vacancies. We find a significant effect of the magnitude of the Burgers vector of the dislocations on the critical radius for the transition. In conclusion, these results give a quantitative way to characterize grain boundaries in their ability to capture He and alter the onset of swelling.« less

Characterization of SiGe thin films using a laboratory X-ray instrument

PubMed Central

Ulyanenkova, Tatjana; Myronov, Maksym; Benediktovitch, Andrei; Mikhalychev, Alexander; Halpin, John; Ulyanenkov, Alex

2013-01-01

The technique of reciprocal space mapping using X-rays is a recognized tool for the nondestructive characterization of epitaxial films. X-ray scattering from epitaxial Si0.4Ge0.6 films on Si(100) substrates using a laboratory X-ray source was investigated. It is shown that a laboratory source with a rotating anode makes it possible to investigate the material parameters of the super-thin 2–6 nm layers. For another set of partially relaxed layers, 50–200 nm thick, it is shown that from a high-resolution reciprocal space map, conditioned from diffuse scattering on dislocations, it is possible to determine quantitatively from the shape of a diffraction peak (possessing no thickness fringes) additional parameters such as misfit dislocation density and layer thickness as well as concentration and relaxation. PMID:24046495

Characterization of SiGe thin films using a laboratory X-ray instrument.

PubMed

Ulyanenkova, Tatjana; Myronov, Maksym; Benediktovitch, Andrei; Mikhalychev, Alexander; Halpin, John; Ulyanenkov, Alex

2013-08-01

The technique of reciprocal space mapping using X-rays is a recognized tool for the nondestructive characterization of epitaxial films. X-ray scattering from epitaxial Si 0.4 Ge 0.6 films on Si(100) substrates using a laboratory X-ray source was investigated. It is shown that a laboratory source with a rotating anode makes it possible to investigate the material parameters of the super-thin 2-6 nm layers. For another set of partially relaxed layers, 50-200 nm thick, it is shown that from a high-resolution reciprocal space map, conditioned from diffuse scattering on dislocations, it is possible to determine quantitatively from the shape of a diffraction peak (possessing no thickness fringes) additional parameters such as misfit dislocation density and layer thickness as well as concentration and relaxation.

Phase-field crystal modeling of heteroepitaxy and exotic modes of crystal nucleation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Podmaniczky, Frigyes; Tóth, Gyula I.; Tegze, György; Pusztai, Tamás; Gránásy, László

2017-01-01

We review recent advances made in modeling heteroepitaxy, two-step nucleation, and nucleation at the growth front within the framework of a simple dynamical density functional theory, the Phase-Field Crystal (PFC) model. The crystalline substrate is represented by spatially confined periodic potentials. We investigate the misfit dependence of the critical thickness in the StranskiKrastanov growth mode in isothermal studies. Apparently, the simulation results for stress release via the misfit dislocations fit better to the PeopleBean model than to the one by Matthews and Blakeslee. Next, we investigate structural aspects of two-step crystal nucleation at high undercoolings, where an amorphous precursor forms in the first stage. Finally, we present results for the formation of new grains at the solid-liquid interface at high supersaturations/supercoolings, a phenomenon termed Growth Front Nucleation (GFN). Results obtained with diffusive dynamics (applicable to colloids) and with a hydrodynamic extension of the PFC theory (HPFC, developed for simple liquids) will be compared. The HPFC simulations indicate two possible mechanisms for GFN.

Theoretical performance of mid wavelength HgCdTe(1 0 0) heterostructure infrared detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kopytko, M.

2017-11-01

The paper presents a theoretical study of the p+BpnN+ design based on HgCdTe(1 0 0) layers, which significantly improves the performance of detectors optimized for the mid-wave infrared spectral range. p+BpnN+ design combines the concept of a high impedance photoconductor with double layer hetero-junction device. Zero valence band offset approximation throughout the p+Bpn heterostructure allows flow of only minority holes generated in the absorber, what in a combination with n-N+ exclusion junction provides the Auger suppression. Modeling shows that by applying a low doping active layer, it is possible to achieve an order of magnitude lower dark current densities than those determined by ;Rule 07;. A key to its success is a reduction of Shockley-Read-Hall centers associated with native defects, residual impurities and misfit dislocations. Reduction of metal site vacancies below 1012 cm-3 and dislocation density to 105 cm-2 allow to achieve a background limited performance at 250 K. If the background radiation can be reduced, operation with a three- or four-stage thermo-electric-cooler may be possible.

Growth and characterization of InSb on (1 0 0) Si for mid-infrared application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Bo Wen; Tan, Kian Hua; Loke, Wan Khai; Wicaksono, Satrio; Yoon, Soon Fatt

2018-05-01

Monolithic integration of InSb on (1 0 0) Si is a practical approach to realizing on-chip mid-infrared photonic devices. An InSb layer was grown on a (1 0 0) Si substrate using an AlSb/GaSb buffer containing InSb quantum dots (QDs). The growth process for the buffer involved the growth of GaSb on Si using an interfacial misfit array, followed by InSb QDs on AlSb to decrease the density of microtwins. InSb layers were separately grown on AlSb and GaSb surfaces to compare the effect of different interfacial misfit arrays. The samples were characterized using transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction to determine the structural properties of the buffer and InSb layers. The InSb on the AlSb sample exhibited higher crystal quality than the InSb on GaSb sample due to a more favorable arrangement of interfacial misfit dislocations. Hall measurements of unintentionally doped InSb layers demonstrated a higher carrier mobility in the InSb on the AlSb sample than in InSb on GaSb. Growing InSb on AlSb also improved the photoresponsivity of InSb as a photoconductor on Si.

IR-LTS a powerful non-invasive tool to observe crystal defects in as-grown silicon, after device processing, and in heteroepitaxial layers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kissinger, G.; Richter, H.; Vanhellemont, J.

1996-12-01

One of the main advantages of infrared light scattering tomography (IR-LST) is the wide range of defect densities that can be studied using this technique. As-grown defects of low density and very small size as well as oxygen precipitation related defects that appear in densities up to some 1010 cm{sup -3} can be observed. As-grown wafers with a {open_quotes}stacking fault ring{close_quotes} were investigated in order to correlate the defects observed by IR-LST with the results of Secco etching and alcaline cleaning solution (SC1) treatment revealing flow pattern defects (FPDs) and crystal originated particles (COPs), respectively. These wafers were studied aftermore » a wet oxidation at 1100{degrees}C for 100 min. In processed CZ silicon wafers it was possible to identify stacking faults and prismatic punching systems directly from the IR-LST image. Brewster angle illumination is a special mode to reveal defects in epitaxial layers in a non-destructive way. Misfit dislocations in the interface between a Ge{sub 0.92}Si{sub 0.08} layer and a silicon substrate were studied using this mode that allows to observe very low dislocation densities.« less

Glide dislocation nucleation from dislocation nodes at semi-coherent {111} Cu–Ni interfaces

DOE PAGES

Shao, Shuai; Wang, Jian; Beyerlein, Irene J.; ...

2015-07-23

Using atomistic simulations and dislocation theory on a model system of semi-coherent {1 1 1} interfaces, we show that misfit dislocation nodes adopt multiple atomic arrangements corresponding to the creation and redistribution of excess volume at the nodes. We identified four distinctive node structures: volume-smeared nodes with (i) spiral or (ii) straight dislocation patterns, and volume-condensed nodes with (iii) triangular or (iv) hexagonal dislocation patterns. Volume-smeared nodes contain interfacial dislocations lying in the Cu–Ni interface but volume-condensed nodes contain two sets of interfacial dislocations in the two adjacent interfaces and jogs across the atomic layer between the two adjacent interfaces.more » Finally, under biaxial tension/compression applied parallel to the interface, we show that the nucleation of lattice dislocations is preferred at the nodes and is correlated with the reduction of excess volume at the nodes.« less

Phase-field crystal modeling of compositional domain formation in ultrathin films.

PubMed

Muralidharan, Srevatsan; Haataja, Mikko

2010-09-17

Bulk-immiscible binary systems often form stress-induced miscible alloy phases when deposited on a substrate. Both alloying and surface dislocation formation lead to the decrease of the elastic strain energy, and the competition between these two strain-relaxation mechanisms gives rise to the emergence of pseudomorphic compositional nanoscale domains, often coexisting with a partially coherent single phase. In this work, we develop a phase-field crystal model for compositional patterning in monolayer aggregates of binary metallic systems. We first demonstrate that the model naturally incorporates the competition between alloying and misfit dislocations, and quantify the effects of misfit and line tension on equilibrium domain size. Then, we quantitatively relate the parameters of the phase-field crystal model to a specific system, CoAg/Ru(0001), and demonstrate that the simulations capture experimentally observed morphologies.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shao, Shuai; Wang, Jian

In this work, using the Cu–Ni (111) semi-coherent interface as a model system, we combine atomistic simulations and defect theory to reveal the relaxation mechanisms, structure, and properties of semi-coherent interfaces. By calculating the generalized stacking fault energy (GSFE) profile of the interface, two stable structures and a high-energy structure are located. During the relaxation, the regions that possess the stable structures expand and develop into coherent regions; the regions with high-energy structure shrink into the intersection of misfit dislocations (nodes). This process reduces the interface excess potential energy but increases the core energy of the misfit dislocations and nodes.more » The core width is dependent on the GSFE of the interface. The high-energy structure relaxes by relative rotation and dilatation between the crystals. The relative rotation is responsible for the spiral pattern at nodes. The relative dilatation is responsible for the creation of free volume at nodes, which facilitates the nodes’ structural transformation. Several node structures have been observed and analyzed. In conclusion, the various structures have significant impact on the plastic deformation in terms of lattice dislocation nucleation, as well as the point defect formation energies.« less

Effect of lattice-misfit strain on the process-induced imprint behavior in epitaxial Pb (Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Wenbin; Wang, Y.; Pang, G. K. H.; Wong, K. H.; Choy, C. L.

2004-08-01

The effect of lattice-misfit strain on the process-induced imprint behavior in Pb (Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT) capacitors with Pt (top), and SrRuO3, La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 or LaNiO3 (bottom) electrodes has been studied. With the different oxide electrodes and by changing the deposition oxygen pressure, various lattice-misfit strains in the epitaxial PZT films have been produced. It was found that after in situ annealing at reduced oxygen pressures, the capacitors showed an increased voltage offset in the polarization-electric field hysteresis loops with increasing the misfit strain, irrelevant to the oxide electrodes employed, while lattice disorder at the bottom interface can effectively eliminate the voltage shift. Our results suggest that the imprint behavior is caused by oxygen loss via dislocations generated by the misfit strain relaxation at the growth temperature.

ICCG-10: International Conference on Crystal Growth (10th) Held in San Diego, California on August 16-21, 1992. Oral Presentation Abstracts.

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-10-01

Renewable Energy Lab. USA University of Madras. India and Oxford University. UK 12:00 Misfit Dislocation Formation and Interaction in Ge on (001) SI 12:00...Bulgaria and Institute of Crystailography. Russia 10:30 interstep Interaction In Solution Growth (101) AOIP Face 10:30 Growth of a First Organic...silicon interactions , and potentials with a similar analytical in heteroepitaxial systems with appreciable misfit. The stability form represented

Ion Beam Assisted Deposition of Thin Epitaxial GaN Films.

PubMed

Rauschenbach, Bernd; Lotnyk, Andriy; Neumann, Lena; Poppitz, David; Gerlach, Jürgen W

2017-06-23

The assistance of thin film deposition with low-energy ion bombardment influences their final properties significantly. Especially, the application of so-called hyperthermal ions (energy <100 eV) is capable to modify the characteristics of the growing film without generating a large number of irradiation induced defects. The nitrogen ion beam assisted molecular beam epitaxy (ion energy <25 eV) is used to deposit GaN thin films on (0001)-oriented 6H-SiC substrates at 700 °C. The films are studied in situ by reflection high energy electron diffraction, ex situ by X-ray diffraction, scanning tunnelling microscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. It is demonstrated that the film growth mode can be controlled by varying the ion to atom ratio, where 2D films are characterized by a smooth topography, a high crystalline quality, low biaxial stress, and low defect density. Typical structural defects in the GaN thin films were identified as basal plane stacking faults, low-angle grain boundaries forming between w-GaN and z-GaN and twin boundaries. The misfit strain between the GaN thin films and substrates is relieved by the generation of edge dislocations in the first and second monolayers of GaN thin films and of misfit interfacial dislocations. It can be demonstrated that the low-energy nitrogen ion assisted molecular beam epitaxy is a technique to produce thin GaN films of high crystalline quality.

Influence of crystallography and bonding on the structure and migration of irrational interphase boundaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aaronson, H. I.

2006-03-01

Interphase boundary structure developed during precipitation from solid solution and during massive transformations is considered in diverse alloy systems in the presence of differences in stacking sequence across interphase boundaries. Linear misfit compensating defects, including misfit dislocations, structural disconnections, and misfit disconnections, are present over a wide range of crystallographie when both phases have metallic bonding. Misfit dislocations have also been observed when both phases have covalent bonding ( e.g., US: β US2 by Sole and van der Walt). These defects are also found when one phase is ionic and the other is metallic (Nb∶Al2O3 by Rühle et al.), albeit when the latter is formed by vapor deposition. However, when bonding is metallic in one phase but significantly covalent in the other, the structure of the interphase boundary appears to depend upon the strength of the covalent bonding relative to that in the metallically bonded phase. When this difference is large, growth can take place as if it were occurring at a free surface, resulting in orientation relationships that are irrational and conjugate habit planes that are ill matched ( e.g., ZrN: α Zr-N by Li et al. and Xe(solid):Al-Xe by Kishida and Yamaguchi). At lower levels of bonding directionality and strength, crystallography is again irrational, but now edge-to-edge-based low-energy structures can replace linear misfit compensating defects (γm:TiAl:αTi-Al by Reynolds et al.). In the perhaps still smaller difference case of Widmanstätten cementite precipitated from austenite, one orientation relationship yields plates with linear misfit compensating defects at their broad faces whereas another (presumably nucleated at different types of site) produces laths with poorly defined shapes and interfacial structures. Hence, Hume-Rothery-type bonding considerations can markedly affect interphase boundary structure and thus the mechanisms, kinetics, and morphology of growth.

Local epitaxial growth of ZrO2 on Ge (100) substrates by atomic layer epitaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Hyoungsub; Chui, Chi On; Saraswat, Krishna C.; McIntyre, Paul C.

2003-09-01

High-k dielectric deposition processes for gate dielectric preparation on Si surfaces usually result in the unavoidable and uncontrolled formation of a thin interfacial oxide layer. Atomic layer deposition of ˜55-Å ZrO2 film on a Ge (100) substrate using ZrCl4 and H2O at 300 °C was found to produce local epitaxial growth [(001) Ge//(001) ZrO2 and [100] Ge//[100] ZrO2] without a distinct interfacial layer, unlike the situation observed when ZrO2 is deposited using the same method on Si. Relatively large lattice mismatch (˜10%) between ZrO2 and Ge produced a high areal density of interfacial misfit dislocations. Large hysteresis (>200 mV) and high frequency dispersion were observed in capacitance-voltage measurements due to the high density of interface states. However, a low leakage current density, comparable to values obtained on Si substrates, was observed with the same capacitance density regardless of the high defect density.

Materials science in pre-plated leadframes for electronic packages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Lilin

Au/Pd/Ni pre-plated leadframes (PPF) are high performance frames for accommodating high-end electronic packages. Cost and reliability are major concerns in their wide application. The present work, from a materials science point view, deepens the understanding of PPFs, optimizes the conventional PPFs, develops a novel PPF architecture and models the residual stress relaxation in heteroepitaxial thin films. The wire pull test, the solderability test, and High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) were employed to characterize the PPFs in order to understand the relationship between performance and microstructure. We optimized the electroplating profiles and determined the minimum thickness of the Pd layer with the PPF performance satisfying the industry standards. Further increasing the Pd layer thickness beyond the critical thickness will not enhance the performance more, but increase the product cost. With the optimized electroplating profile, the electroplated Au layer is epitaxially deposited on the Pd layer, and so does the Pd layer on the Ni layer. Misfit dislocations and nanotwins are present at the interface between the Pd and Ni layers, which are generated to release the about 10.4% misfit strain between the Pd and Ni lattices. This work demonstrates that the electro-deposition technique can electroplate epitaxy-like Pd films on the highly (200) textured Ni films, which are grown on the Cu substrates. A novel technique for impeding Cu out-diffusion in Cu alloy based pre-plated leadframes was developed by electroplating a 3-4 nm thick Sn layer on a Cu alloy base prior to electroplating a Ni layer. A 10-14 nm thick epitaxy-like and dense (Cu,Ni)3Sn intermetallic compound (IMC) layer is automatically formed en route of diffuse reaction, which leads to a drastic reduction in Cu out-diffusion and hence improves significantly the protection of the leadframes against oxidation and corrosion attack. The oxidation behaviours were quantified by Electron Diffraction X-ray (EX) incorporated in Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) in the present work, which is a good complementary to the traditional weight gain test by a balance. A diffusion/oxidation model was developed to estimate the effective diffusion coefficient of Cu in the formed IMC nanolayers. The estimated Cu diffusion coefficient in the IMC interlayer is about 1.6x10 -22m2/s at 250°C, which is around 7~11 orders lower than the interdiffusion coefficients for eta- Cu6Sn5 and epsilon- Cu3Sn phases at corresponding temperatures. Based on the dislocation theory of twinning, analytical solutions by using the hybrid superposition and Fourier transformation approach were derived for the calculation of various energies involved in the misfit twinning process. For a given epilayer thickness and lattice mismatch strain, the twin formation energy should reach its minimum to determine the twin width and a zero minimum formation energy determines the critical thickness for misfit twinning. The effect of elastic mismatch between the epilayer and the substrate on the critical thickness was studied comprehensively, revealing that an elastically soft epilayer has a large critical thickness. Moreover, a misfit-twin-and-perfect-dislocation predominance chart is constructed to predict the predominant regions of misfit twinning and perfect dislocation in the mismatch strain and the specific twin boundary energy domain. Multiple misfit twins in epilayer/substrate systems were studied by summing up the stress and displacement fields of individual twins. In principle, the energy minimization approach can be applied to multiple misfit twins, although only periodic arrays of parallel and alternating twins were investigated here in detail. The equilibrium twin width and equilibrium twin spacing of a periodic array of twins represent the misfit twin morphology. The theoretical results indicate that the difference in elastic constants between an epilayer and its substrate has great effects on the morphology of equilibrium twins. The theoretical predictions agree with experimental observations.

Growth of highly strained CeO 2 ultrathin films

DOE PAGES

Shi, Yezhou; Lee, Sang Chul; Monti, Matteo; ...

2016-11-07

Large biaxial strain is a promising route to tune the functionalities of oxide thin films. However, large strain is often not fully realized due to the formation of misfit dislocations at the film/substrate interface. In this work, we examine the growth of strained ceria (CeO 2) thin films on (001)-oriented single crystal yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) via pulsed-laser deposition. By varying the film thickness systematically between 1 and 430 nm, we demonstrate that ultrathin ceria films are coherently strained to the YSZ substrate for thicknesses up to 2.7 nm, despite the large lattice mismatch (~5%). The coherency is confirmed by bothmore » X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. This thickness is several times greater than the predicted equilibrium critical thickness. Partial strain relaxation is achieved by forming semirelaxed surface islands rather than by directly nucleating dislocations. In situ reflective high-energy electron diffraction during growth confirms the transition from 2-D (layer-by-layer) to 3-D (island) at a film thickness of ~1 nm, which is further supported by atomic force microscopy. We propose that dislocations likely nucleate near the surface islands and glide to the film/substrate interface, as evidenced by the presence of 60° dislocations. Finally, an improved understanding of growing oxide thin films with a large misfit lays the foundation to systematically explore the impact of strain and dislocations on properties such as ionic transport and redox chemistry.« less

Strain relaxation in convex-graded InxAl1-xAs (x = 0.05-0.79) metamorphic buffer layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs(001)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Solov'ev, V. A.; Chernov, M. Yu; Baidakova, M. V.; Kirilenko, D. A.; Yagovkina, M. A.; Sitnikova, A. A.; Komissarova, T. A.; Kop'ev, P. S.; Ivanov, S. V.

2018-01-01

This paper presents a study of structural properties of InGaAs/InAlAs quantum well (QW) heterostructures with convex-graded InxAl1-xAs (x = 0.05-0.79) metamorphic buffer layers (MBLs) grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs substrates. Mechanisms of elastic strain relaxation in the convex-graded MBLs were studied by the X-ray reciprocal space mapping combined with the data of spatially-resolved selected area electron diffraction implemented in a transmission electron microscope. The strain relaxation degree was approximated for the structures with different values of an In step-back. Strong contribution of the strain relaxation via lattice tilt in addition to the formation of the misfit dislocations has been observed for the convex-graded InAlAs MBL, which results in a reduced threading dislocation density in the QW region as compared to a linear-graded MBL.

Dislocation nucleation facilitated by atomic segregation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zou, Lianfeng; Yang, Chaoming; Lei, Yinkai; Zakharov, Dmitri; Wiezorek, Jörg M. K.; Su, Dong; Yin, Qiyue; Li, Jonathan; Liu, Zhenyu; Stach, Eric A.; Yang, Judith C.; Qi, Liang; Wang, Guofeng; Zhou, Guangwen

2018-01-01

Surface segregation--the enrichment of one element at the surface, relative to the bulk--is ubiquitous to multi-component materials. Using the example of a Cu-Au solid solution, we demonstrate that compositional variations induced by surface segregation are accompanied by misfit strain and the formation of dislocations in the subsurface region via a surface diffusion and trapping process. The resulting chemically ordered surface regions acts as an effective barrier that inhibits subsequent dislocation annihilation at free surfaces. Using dynamic, atomic-scale resolution electron microscopy observations and theory modelling, we show that the dislocations are highly active, and we delineate the specific atomic-scale mechanisms associated with their nucleation, glide, climb, and annihilation at elevated temperatures. These observations provide mechanistic detail of how dislocations nucleate and migrate at heterointerfaces in dissimilar-material systems.

Relaxation mechanisms, structure and properties of semi-coherent interfaces

DOE PAGES

Shao, Shuai; Wang, Jian

2015-10-15

In this work, using the Cu–Ni (111) semi-coherent interface as a model system, we combine atomistic simulations and defect theory to reveal the relaxation mechanisms, structure, and properties of semi-coherent interfaces. By calculating the generalized stacking fault energy (GSFE) profile of the interface, two stable structures and a high-energy structure are located. During the relaxation, the regions that possess the stable structures expand and develop into coherent regions; the regions with high-energy structure shrink into the intersection of misfit dislocations (nodes). This process reduces the interface excess potential energy but increases the core energy of the misfit dislocations and nodes.more » The core width is dependent on the GSFE of the interface. The high-energy structure relaxes by relative rotation and dilatation between the crystals. The relative rotation is responsible for the spiral pattern at nodes. The relative dilatation is responsible for the creation of free volume at nodes, which facilitates the nodes’ structural transformation. Several node structures have been observed and analyzed. In conclusion, the various structures have significant impact on the plastic deformation in terms of lattice dislocation nucleation, as well as the point defect formation energies.« less

Fundamental Studies of Strengthening Mechanisms in Metals Using Dislocation Dynamics

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-03-26

to quantify the elastic fields of inclusion eigenstrain problems in 2D and 3D (Lerma et al. 2003). The inclusions can be of any shape or size and the... eigenstrains can be arbitrarily assigned, i.e. constant or non-constant within the inclusion. The method works well for material or field points...geometry and misfits. Recently, we have developed a new distributed-dislocation method for modeling eigenstrain problems such as gamma prime inclusions

Solute atmospheres at dislocations

DOE PAGES

Hirth, John P.; Barnett, David M.; Hoagland, Richard G.

2017-06-01

In this study, a two-dimensional plane strain elastic solution is determined for the Cottrell solute atmosphere around an edge dislocation in an infinitely long cylinder of finite radius (the matrix), in which rows of solutes are represented by cylindrical rods with in-plane hydrostatic misfit (axial misfit is also considered). The periphery of the matrix is traction-free, thus introducing an image solute field which generates a solute-solute interaction energy that has not been considered previously. The relevant energy for the field of any distribution of solutes coexistent with a single edge dislocation along the (matrix) cylinder axis is determined, and coherencymore » effects are discussed and studied. Monte Carlo simulations accounting for all pertinent interactions over a range of temperatures are found to yield solute distributions different from classical results, namely, (1) Fermi-Dirac condensations at low temperatures at the free surface, (2) the majority of the atmosphere lying within an unexpectedly large non-linear interaction region near the dislocation core, and (3) temperature-dependent asymmetrical solute arrangements that promote bending. The solute distributions at intermediate temperatures show a 1/r dependence in agreement with previous linearized approximations. With a standard state of solute corresponding to a mean concentration, c 0, the relevant interaction energy expression presented in this work is valid when extended to large concentrations for which Henry's Law and Vegard's Law do not apply.« less

Solute atmospheres at dislocations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hirth, John P.; Barnett, David M.; Hoagland, Richard G.

In this study, a two-dimensional plane strain elastic solution is determined for the Cottrell solute atmosphere around an edge dislocation in an infinitely long cylinder of finite radius (the matrix), in which rows of solutes are represented by cylindrical rods with in-plane hydrostatic misfit (axial misfit is also considered). The periphery of the matrix is traction-free, thus introducing an image solute field which generates a solute-solute interaction energy that has not been considered previously. The relevant energy for the field of any distribution of solutes coexistent with a single edge dislocation along the (matrix) cylinder axis is determined, and coherencymore » effects are discussed and studied. Monte Carlo simulations accounting for all pertinent interactions over a range of temperatures are found to yield solute distributions different from classical results, namely, (1) Fermi-Dirac condensations at low temperatures at the free surface, (2) the majority of the atmosphere lying within an unexpectedly large non-linear interaction region near the dislocation core, and (3) temperature-dependent asymmetrical solute arrangements that promote bending. The solute distributions at intermediate temperatures show a 1/r dependence in agreement with previous linearized approximations. With a standard state of solute corresponding to a mean concentration, c 0, the relevant interaction energy expression presented in this work is valid when extended to large concentrations for which Henry's Law and Vegard's Law do not apply.« less

Misfit dislocation patterns of Mg-Nb interfaces

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, Youxing; Shao, Shuai; Liu, Xiang-Yang

The role of heterogeneous interfaces in improving mechanical properties of polycrystalline aggregates and laminated composites has been well recognized with interface structure being of fundamental importance in designing composites containing multiple interfaces. In this paper, taking the Mg (hexagonal close-packed (hcp))/Nb (body-centered cubic (bcc)) interface as an example, we develop Mg-Nb interatomic potentials for predicting atomic configurations of Mg/Nb interfaces. We systematically characterize interface dislocations of Mg/Nb interfaces with Nishiyama-Wassermann (NW) and Kurdjumov-Sachs (KS) orientation relationships and propose a generalized procedure of characterizing interface structure by combining atomistic simulation and interface dislocation theory, which is applicable for not only hcp/bccmore » interfaces, but also other systems with complicated interface dislocation configurations.Here, in Mg/Nb, interface dislocation networks of two types of interfaces are significantly different although they originate from partial dislocations of similar character: the NW interface is composed of three sets of partial dislocations, while the KS interface is composed of four sets of interface dislocations - three sets of partial dislocations and one set of full dislocations that forms from the reaction of two close partial dislocations.« less

Electric Circuit Model Analogy for Equilibrium Lattice Relaxation in Semiconductor Heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kujofsa, Tedi; Ayers, John E.

2018-01-01

The design and analysis of semiconductor strained-layer device structures require an understanding of the equilibrium profiles of strain and dislocations associated with mismatched epitaxy. Although it has been shown that the equilibrium configuration for a general semiconductor strained-layer structure may be found numerically by energy minimization using an appropriate partitioning of the structure into sublayers, such an approach is computationally intense and non-intuitive. We have therefore developed a simple electric circuit model approach for the equilibrium analysis of these structures. In it, each sublayer of an epitaxial stack may be represented by an analogous circuit configuration involving an independent current source, a resistor, an independent voltage source, and an ideal diode. A multilayered structure may be built up by the connection of the appropriate number of these building blocks, and the node voltages in the analogous electric circuit correspond to the equilibrium strains in the original epitaxial structure. This enables analysis using widely accessible circuit simulators, and an intuitive understanding of electric circuits can easily be extended to the relaxation of strained-layer structures. Furthermore, the electrical circuit model may be extended to continuously-graded epitaxial layers by considering the limit as the individual sublayer thicknesses are diminished to zero. In this paper, we describe the mathematical foundation of the electrical circuit model, demonstrate its application to several representative structures involving In x Ga1- x As strained layers on GaAs (001) substrates, and develop its extension to continuously-graded layers. This extension allows the development of analytical expressions for the strain, misfit dislocation density, critical layer thickness and widths of misfit dislocation free zones for a continuously-graded layer having an arbitrary compositional profile. It is similar to the transition from circuit theory, using lumped circuit elements, to electromagnetics, using distributed electrical quantities. We show this development using first principles, but, in a more general sense, Maxwell's equations of electromagnetics could be applied.

Structure of A-C Type Intervariant Interface in Nonmodulated Martensite in a Ni-Mn-Ga Alloy.

PubMed

Ouyang, S; Yang, Y Q; Han, M; Xia, Z H; Huang, B; Luo, X; Zhao, G M; Chen, Y X

2016-07-06

The structure of A-C type intervariant interface in nonmodulated martensite in the Ni54Mn25Ga21 alloy was studied using high resolution transmission electron microscopy. The A-C interface is between the martensitic variants A and C, each of which has a nanoscale substructure of twin-related lamellae. According to their different thicknesses, the nanoscale lamellae in each variant can be classified into major and minor lamellae. It is the boundaries between these lamellae in different variants that constitute the A-C interface, which is thus composed of major-major, minor-minor, and major-minor lamellar boundaries. The volume fraction of the minor lamellae, λ, plays an important role in the structure of A-C interfaces. For major-major and minor-minor lamellar boundaries, they are symmetrical or asymmetrical tilt boundaries; for major-minor boundary, as λ increases, it changes from a symmetrical tilt boundary to two asymmetrical microfacets. Moreover, both lattice and misfit dislocations were observed in the A-C interfaces. On the basis of experimental observations and dislocation theory, we explain how different morphologies of the A-C interface are formed and describe the formation process of the A-C interfaces from λ ≈ 0 to λ ≈ 0.5 in terms of dislocation-boundary interaction, and we infer that low density of interfacial dislocations would lead to high mobility of the A-C interface.

A New Paradigm for Designing High-Fracture-Energy Steels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fine, M. E.; Vaynman, S.; Isheim, D.; Chung, Y.-W.; Bhat, S. P.; Hahin, C. H.

2010-12-01

The steels used for structural and other applications ideally should have both high strength and high toughness. Most high-strength steels contain substantial carbon content that gives poor weldability and toughness. A theoretical study is presented that was inspired by the early work of Weertman on the effect that single or clusters of solute atoms with slightly different atom sizes have on dislocation configurations in metals. This is of particular interest for metals with high Peierls stress. Misfit centers that are coherent and coplanar in body-centered cubic (bcc) metals can provide sufficient twisting of nearby screw dislocations to reduce the Peierls stress locally and to give improved dislocation mobility and hence better toughness at low temperatures. Therefore, the theory predicts that such nanoscale misfit centers in low-carbon steels can give both precipitation hardening and improved ductility and fracture toughness. To explore the validity of this theory, we measured the Charpy impact fracture energy as a function of temperature for a series of low-carbon Cu-precipitation-strengthened steels. Results show that an addition of 0.94 to 1.49 wt pct Cu and other accompanying elements results in steels with high Charpy impact energies down to cryogenic temperatures (198 K [-75 °C]) with no distinct ductile-to-brittle transition. The addition of 0.1 wt pct Ti results in an additional increase in impact toughness, with Charpy impact fracture energies ranging from 358 J (machine limit) at 248 K (-25 °C) to almost 200 J at 198 K (-75 °C). Extending this concept of using coherent and coplanar misfit centers to decrease the Peierls stress locally to other than bcc iron-based systems suggests an intriguing possibility of developing ductile hexagonal close-packed alloys and intermetallics.

Dislocation nucleation facilitated by atomic segregation

DOE PAGES

Zou, Lianfeng; Yang, Chaoming; Lei, Yinkai; ...

2017-11-27

Surface segregation—the enrichment of one element at the surface, relative to the bulk—is ubiquitous to multi-component materials. Using the example of a Cu–Au solid solution, we demonstrate that compositional variations induced by surface segregation are accompanied by misfit strain and the formation of dislocations in the subsurface region via a surface di˙usion and trapping process. The resulting chemically ordered surface regions acts as an e˙ective barrier that inhibits subsequent dislocation annihilation at free surfaces. Using dynamic, atomic-scale resolution electron microscopy observations and theory modelling, we show that the dislocations are highly active, and we delineate the specific atomic-scale mechanisms associatedmore » with their nucleation, glide, climb, and annihilation at elevated temperatures. As a result, these observations provide mechanistic detail of how dislocations nucleate and migrate at heterointerfaces in dissimilar-material systems.« less

Application of the anisotropic phase-field crystal model to investigate the lattice systems of different anisotropic parameters and orientations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kundin, Julia; Ajmal Choudhary, Muhammad

2017-07-01

In this article, we present the recent advances in the development of the anisotropic phase-field crystal (APFC) model. These advances are important in basic researches for multiferroic and thermoelectric materials with anisotropic crystal lattices and in thin-film applications. We start by providing a general description of the model derived in our previous studies based on the crystal symmetry and the microscopic dynamical density functional theory for anisotropic interactions and show that there exist only two possible degrees of freedom for the anisotropic lattices which are described by two independent parameters. New findings concerning the applications of the APFC model for the estimation of the elastic modules of anisotropic systems including sheared and stretched lattices as well as for the investigation of the heterogeneous thin film growth are described. The simulation results demonstrate the strong dependency of the misfit dislocation formation during the film growth on the anisotropy and reveal the asymmetric behavior in the cases of positive and negative misfits. We also present the development of the amplitude representation for the full APFC model of two orientation variants and show the relationship between the wave vectors and the base angles of the anisotropic lattices.

The origin of shear wave splitting beneath Iceland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ito, Garrett; Dunn, Robert; Li, Aibing

2015-06-01

The origin of shear wave splitting (SWS) in the mantle beneath Iceland is examined using numerical models that simulate 3-D mantle flow and the development of seismic anisotropy due to lattice-preferred orientation (LPO). Using the simulated anisotropy structure, we compute synthetic SKS waveforms, invert them for fast polarization directions and split times, and then compare the predictions with the results from three observational studies of Iceland. Models that simulate a mantle plume interacting with the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in which the shallow-most mantle has a high viscosity due to the extraction of water with partial melting, or in which C-type olivine LPO fabric is present due to high water content in the plume, produce the largest chi-squared misfits to the SWS observations and are thus rejected. Models of a low-viscosity mantle plume with A-type olivine fabric everywhere, or with the added effects of E-type fabric in the plume below the solidus produce lower misfits. The lowest misfits are produced by models that include a rapid (˜50 km Myr-1) northward regional flow (NRF) in the mid-upper mantle, either with or without a plume. NRF was previously indicated by a receiver function study and a regional tomography study, and is shown here to be a major cause of the azimuthal anisotropy beneath Iceland. The smallest misfits for the models with both a plume and NRF are produced when LPO forms above depths of 300-400 km, which, by implication, also mark the depths above which dislocation creep dominates over diffusion creep. This depth of transition between dislocation and diffusion creep is greater than expected beneath normal oceanic seafloor, and is attributed to the unusually rapid strain rates associated with an Iceland plume and the NRF.

The influence of anisotropy on the core structure of Shockley partial dislocations within FCC materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szajewski, B. A.; Hunter, A.; Luscher, D. J.; Beyerlein, I. J.

2018-01-01

Both theoretical and numerical models of dislocations often necessitate the assumption of elastic isotropy to retain analytical tractability in addition to reducing computational load. As dislocation based models evolve towards physically realistic material descriptions, the assumption of elastic isotropy becomes increasingly worthy of examination. We present an analytical dislocation model for calculating the full dissociated core structure of dislocations within anisotropic face centered cubic (FCC) crystals as a function of the degree of material elastic anisotropy, two misfit energy densities on the γ-surface ({γ }{{isf}}, {γ }{{usf}}) and the remaining elastic constants. Our solution is independent of any additional features of the γ-surface. Towards this pursuit, we first demonstrate that the dependence of the anisotropic elasticity tensor on the orientation of the dislocation line within the FCC crystalline lattice is small and may be reasonably neglected for typical materials. With this approximation, explicit analytic solutions for the anisotropic elasticity tensor {B} for both nominally edge and screw dislocations within an FCC crystalline lattice are devised, and employed towards defining a set of effective isotropic elastic constants which reproduce fully anisotropic results, however do not retain the bulk modulus. Conversely, Hill averaged elastic constants which both retain the bulk modulus and reasonably approximate the dislocation core structure are employed within subsequent numerical calculations. We examine a wide range of materials within this study, and the features of each partial dislocation core are sufficiently localized that application of discrete linear elasticity accurately describes the separation of each partial dislocation core. In addition, the local features (the partial dislocation core distribution) are well described by a Peierls-Nabarro dislocation model. We develop a model for the displacement profile which depends upon two disparate dislocation length scales which describe the core structure; (i) the equilibrium stacking fault width between two Shockley partial dislocations, R eq and (ii) the maximum slip gradient, χ, of each Shockley partial dislocation. We demonstrate excellent agreement between our own analytic predictions, numerical calculations, and R eq computed directly by both ab-initio and molecular statics methods found elsewhere within the literature. The results suggest that understanding of various plastic mechanisms, e.g., cross-slip and nucleation may be augmented with the inclusion of elastic anisotropy.

The deformation twin in lamellar Ti 3Al/TiAl structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, J. X.; Ye, H. Q.

2003-04-01

A Ti-48Al-2Cr (at.%) alloy consisting of γ+α 2 lamellar structure was deformed in compression at room temperature. Study by high resolution electron microscopy was carried out on the characteristic of induced γ T/α 2 interface. During deformation the γ T/α 2 interface presents a stepped structure and the γ/α 2 interface remains straight. The formation mechanism of γ T associated with misfit dislocations is proposed. 1/2[01 1¯] γ interfacial dislocation in the γ/α 2 interface can dissociate into a 1/6[ 1¯1 2¯] γ partial dislocation which glides on the ( 1¯11) γ plane and causes γ T to form.

Microstructural evaluation of strained multilayer InAsSb/InSb infrared detectors by transmission electron microscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chadda, S.; Datye, A.; Dawson, L.R.

InSb/InAsSb strained layer superlattices (SLS) were grown on (001) InSb substrates by molecular beam epitaxy at 425 [degree]C. The active device consisted of an InAs[sub 0.15]Sb[sub 0.85]/InSb superlattice region embedded within a [ital p]-[ital i]-[ital n] junction. The large lattice mismatch between the active device and the substrate required the growth of a buffer. InAs[sub 0.15]Sb[sub 0.85]/InSb SLS, where the average As content was gradually increased, was used as a buffer. The buffer structure was varied to probe its microstructural effect on the capping device. Three distinct approaches (A, B, and C) were used to grow the buffer. Approach Amore » was a four-step buffer where the average content of As in the superlattice was increased in four equal composition steps. This approach led to a crystal with an extensive network of threading dislocations and microcracks. Approach B was to change the average composition in five equal composition steps, thereby decreasing the misfit at the interfaces between composition steps. This led to a decrease in the threading dislocation density but microscopic cracks were still evident. The last approach (C) was to employ migration enhanced epitaxy (MEE) for the growth of the five-step buffer. Samples grown by employing MEE revealed no microcracks but they contained a high density of unusual wiggly'' dislocations at the buffer/device interface. Detailed microstructural analysis by transmission electron microscopy is presented.« less

Device Modeling and Characterization for CIGS Solar Cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Sang Ho

We studied the way to achieve high efficiency and low cost of CuIn1-xGaxSe2 (CIGS) solar cells. The Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) tunneling currents at low bias decreased the shunt resistances and degraded the fill factor and efficiency. The activation energies of majority traps were directly related with F-N tunneling currents by the energy barriers. Air anneals decreased the efficiency from 7.74% to 5.18% after a 150 °C, 1000 hour anneal. The decrease of shunt resistance due to F-N tunneling and the increase of series resistance degrade the efficiencies of solar cells. Air anneal reduces the free carrier densities by the newly generated Cu interstitial defects (Cui). Mobile Cui defects induce the metastability in CIGS solar cell. Since oxygen atoms are preferred to passivate the Se vacancies thus Cu interstitial defects explains well metastability of CIGS solar cells. Lattice mismatch and misfit stress between layers in CIGS solar cells can explain the particular effects of CIGS solar cells. The misfits of 35.08° rotated (220/204) CIGS to r-plane (102) MoSe2 layers are 1% ˜ -4% lower than other orientation and the lattice constants of two layers in short direction are matched at Ga composition x=0.35. This explains well the preferred orientation and the maximum efficiency of Ga composition effects. Misfit between CIGS and CdS generated the dislocations in CdS layer as the interface traps. Thermionic emission currents due to interface traps limit the open circuit voltage at high Ga composition. The trap densities were calculated by critical thickness and dislocation spacing and the numerical device simulation results were well matched with the experimental results. A metal oxide broken-gap p-n heterojunction is suggested for tunnel junction for multi-junction polycrystalline solar cells and we examined the characteristics of broken-gap tunnel junction by numerical simulation. Ballistic transport mechanism explains well I-V characteristics of broken-gap junction. P-type Cu2O and n-type In2O3 broken-gap heterojunction is effective with the CIGS tandem solar cells. The junction has linear I-V characteristics with moderate carrier concentration (2x1017 cm-3) and the resistance is lower than GaAs tunnel junction. The efficiency of a CGS/CIS tandem solar cells was 24.1% with buffer layers. And no significant degradations are expected due to broken gap junction.

Misfit strain driven cation inter-diffusion across an epitaxial multiferroic thin film interface

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sankara Rama Krishnan, P. S.; Munroe, Paul; Nagarajan, V.

Cation intermixing at functional oxide interfaces remains a highly controversial area directly relevant to interface-driven nanoelectronic device properties. Here, we systematically explore the cation intermixing in epitaxial (001) oriented multiferroic bismuth ferrite (BFO) grown on a (001) lanthanum aluminate (LAO) substrate. Aberration corrected dedicated scanning transmission electron microscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy reveal that the interface is not chemically sharp, but with an intermixing of ∼2 nm. The driving force for this process is identified as misfit-driven elastic strain. Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire-based phenomenological theory was combined with the Sheldon and Shenoy formula in order to understand the influence of boundary conditions andmore » depolarizing fields arising from misfit strain between the LAO substrate and BFO film. The theory predicts the presence of a strong potential gradient at the interface, which decays on moving into the bulk of the film. This potential gradient is significant enough to drive the cation migration across the interface, thereby mitigating the misfit strain. Our results offer new insights on how chemical roughening at oxide interfaces can be effective in stabilizing the structural integrity of the interface without the need for misfit dislocations. These findings offer a general formalism for understanding cation intermixing at highly strained oxide interfaces that are used in nanoelectronic devices.« less

Strain relaxation in (0001) AlN/GaN heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bourret, Alain; Adelmann, Christoph; Daudin, Bruno; Rouvière, Jean-Luc; Feuillet, Guy; Mula, Guido

2001-06-01

The strain-relaxation phenomena during the early stages of plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy growth of lattice-mismatched wurtzite (0001) AlN/GaN heterostructures have been studied by real-time recording of the in situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED), ex situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and atomic-force microscopy. A pseudo-two-dimensional layer-by-layer growth is observed at substrate temperatures of 640-660 °C, as evidenced by RHEED and TEM. However, the variation of the in-plane lattice parameter during growth and after growth has been found to be complex. Three steps have been seen during the deposition of lattice-mismatched AlN and GaN layers: they were interpreted as the succession of the formation of flat platelets, 3-6 monolayers high (0.8-1.5 nm) and 10-20 nm in diameter, their partial coalescence, and gradual dislocation introduction. Platelet formation leads to elastic relaxation as high as 1.8%, i.e., a considerable part of the AlN/GaN lattice mismatch of 2.4%, and can be reversible. Platelets are always observed during the initial stages of growth and are almost insensitive to the metal/N ratio. In contrast, platelet coalescence and dislocation introduction are very dependent on the metal/N ratio: no coalescence occurs and the dislocation introduction rate is higher under N-rich conditions. In all cases, the misfit dislocation density, as measured by the irreversible relaxation, is initially of the order of 7×1011 cm-2 and decreases exponentially with the layer thickness. These results are interpreted in the framework of a model that emphasizes the important role of the flat platelets for dislocation nucleation.

Large Area and Depth-Profiling Dislocation Imaging and Strain Analysis in Si/SiGe/Si Heterostructures

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-01

of the defect trapping state ( Higgs & Kittler, 2441994), the temperature dependence of c is determined by the 245temperature dependence of lifetime...Lett 65(22), 2804–2806. 397KITTLER, M., ULHAQBOUILLET, C. & HIGGS , V. (1995). Influence of 398copper contamination on recombination activity of misfit

Structural modifications due to interface chemistry at metal-nitride interfaces

DOE PAGES

Yadav, S. K.; Shao, S.; Wang, J.; ...

2015-11-27

Based on accurate first principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations, an unusual phenomenon of interfacial structural modifications, due to the interface chemistry influence is identified at two metal-nitride interfaces with strong metal-nitrogen affinity, Al/TiN {111} and Al/VN {111} interfaces. It is shown that at such interfaces, a faulted stacking structure is energetically preferred on the Al side of the interface. And both intrinsic and extrinsic stacking fault energies in the vicinity Al layers are negligibly small. However, such phenomenon does not occur in Pt/TiN and Pt/VN interfaces because of the weak Pt-N affinity. As a result, corresponding to structural energiesmore » of metal-nitride interfaces, the linear elasticity analysis predicts characteristics of interfacial misfit dislocations at metal-nitride interfaces.« less

Structural modifications due to interface chemistry at metal-nitride interfaces

PubMed Central

Yadav, S. K.; Shao, S.; Wang, J.; Liu, X.-Y.

2015-01-01

Based on accurate first principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations, an unusual phenomenon of interfacial structural modifications, due to the interface chemistry influence is identified at two metal-nitride interfaces with strong metal-nitrogen affinity, Al/TiN {111} and Al/VN {111} interfaces. It is shown that at such interfaces, a faulted stacking structure is energetically preferred on the Al side of the interface. And both intrinsic and extrinsic stacking fault energies in the vicinity Al layers are negligibly small. However, such phenomenon does not occur in Pt/TiN and Pt/VN interfaces because of the weak Pt-N affinity. Corresponding to structural energies of metal-nitride interfaces, the linear elasticity analysis predicts characteristics of interfacial misfit dislocations at metal-nitride interfaces. PMID:26611639

Semiconductor Film Grown on a Circular Substrate: Predictive Modeling of Lattice-Misfit Stresses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suhir, E.; Nicolics, J.; Khatibi, G.; Lederer, M.

2016-03-01

An effective and physically meaningful analytical predictive model is developed for the evaluation the lattice-misfit stresses (LMS) in a semiconductor film grown on a circular substrate (wafer). The two-dimensional (plane-stress) theory-of-elasticity approximation (TEA) is employed in the analysis. The addressed stresses include the interfacial shearing stress, responsible for the occurrence and growth of dislocations, as well as for possible delaminations and the cohesive strength of a buffering material, if any. Normal radial and circumferential (tangential) stresses acting in the film cross-sections and responsible for its short- and long-term strength (fracture toughness) are also addressed. The analysis is geared to the GaN technology.

A new orientation relationship between cementite and austenite and coexistence of pseudo-primary and secondary dislocations in the habit plane

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Wen-Sheng; Zhang, Wen-Zheng

2018-01-01

A new orientation relationship (OR) is found between Widmanstätten cementite precipitates and the austenite matrix in a 1.3C-14Mn steel. The associated habit plane (HP) and the dislocations in the HP have been investigated with transmission electron microscopy. The HP is parallel to ? in cementite, and it is parallel to ? in austenite. Three groups of interfacial dislocations are observed in the HP, with limited quantitative experimental data. The line directions, the spacing and the Burgers vectors of two sets of dislocations have been calculated based on a misfit analysis, which combines the CSL/DSC/O-lattice theories, row matching and good matching site (GMS) mappings. The calculated results are in reasonable agreement with the experimental results. The dislocations 'Coarse 1' and 'Fine 1' are in the same direction as the matching rows, i.e. ?. 'Coarse 1' dislocations are secondary dislocations with a Burgers vector of ?, and 'Fine 1' dislocations are pseudo-primary dislocations with a plausible Burgers vector of ?. The reason why the fraction of the new OR is much less than that of the dominant Pitsch OR has been discussed in terms of the degree of matching in the HPs.

Defect characterization of MOCVD grown AlN/AlGaN films on sapphire substrates by TEM and TKD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Connell, J. H.; Lee, M. E.; Westraadt, J.; Engelbrecht, J. A. A.

2018-04-01

High resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has been used to characterize defects structures in AlN/AlGaN epilayers grown by metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) on c-plane sapphire (Al2O3) substrates. The AlN buffer layer was shown to be epitaxially grown on the sapphire substrate with the two lattices rotated relatively through 30°. The AlN layer had a measured thickness of 20-30 nm and was also shown to contain nano-sized voids. The misfit dislocations in the buffer layer have been shown to be pure edge with a spacing of 1.5 nm. TEM characterization of the AlGaN epilayers was shown to contain a higher than expected threading dislocation density of the order 1010 cm-2 as well as the existence of "nanopipes". TEM analysis of the planar lamella for AlGaN has presented evidence for the possibility of columnar growth. The strain and misorientation mapping in the AlGaN epilayer by transmission Kikuchi diffraction (TKD) using the FIB lamella has also been demonstrated to be complimentary to data obtained by TEM imaging.

Influences of misfit strains on liquid phase heteroepitaxial growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Yanli; Peng, Yingying; Yu, Genggeng; Chen, Zheng

2017-10-01

Influences of misfit strains with different signs on liquid phase heteroepitaxial growth are studied by binary phase field crystal model. It is amazing to find that double islands are formed because of lateral and vertical separation. The morphological evolution of epitaxial layer depends on signs of misfit strains. The maximum atomic layer thickness of double islands under negative misfit strain is larger than that of under positive misfit strain at the same evolutional time, and size differences between light and dark islands is much smaller under negative misfit strain than that of under positive misfit strain. In addition, concentration field and density field approximately have similar variational law along x direction under the same misfit strain but show opposite variational trend under misfit strains with different signs. Generally, free energy of epitaxial growth systems keeps similar variational trend under misfit strains with different signs.

Strain, doping, and disorder effects in GaAs/Ge/Si heterostructures: A Raman spectroscopy investigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mlayah, A.; Carles, R.; Leycuras, A.

1992-01-01

The present work is devoted to a Raman study of GaAs/Ge/Si heterostructures grown by the vapor-phase epitaxy technique. We first show that the GaAs epilayers are submitted to a biaxial tensile strain. The strain relaxation generates misfit dislocations and thus disorder effects which we analyze in terms of translational invariance loss and Raman selection rules violation. The first-order Raman spectra of annealed samples exhibit an unexpected broadband we identify as due to scattering by a coupled LO phonon-damped plasmon mode. This is corroborated by an accurate line-shape analysis which accounts for the recorded spectra and makes evident the presence of free carriers within the GaAs layers. Their density is estimated from the deduced plasmon frequency and also using a method we have presented in a previous work.

Heterostructures of metamorphic GaInAs photovoltaic converters fabricated by MOCVD on GaAs substrates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mintairov, S. A., E-mail: mintairov@scell.ioffe.ru; Emelyanov, V. M.; Rybalchenko, D. V.

Heterostructures of metamorphic GaInAs photovoltaic converters (PVCs) are on GaAs substrates by the metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) method. It is shown that using a multilayer metamorphic buffer with a step of 2.5% in indium content and layer thicknesses of 120 nm provides the high quality of bulk layers subsequently grown on the buffer up to an indium content of 24%. PVCs with a long-wavelength photosensitivity edge up to 1300 nm and a quantum efficiency of ~80% in the spectral range 1050–1100 nm are fabricated. Analysis of the open-circuit voltage of the PVCs and diffusion lengths of minority carriers inmore » the layers demonstrates that the density of misfit dislocations penetrating into the bulk layers increases at an indium content exceeding 10%.« less

Self-assembled InN quantum dots on side facets of GaN nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bi, Zhaoxia; Ek, Martin; Stankevic, Tomas; Colvin, Jovana; Hjort, Martin; Lindgren, David; Lenrick, Filip; Johansson, Jonas; Wallenberg, L. Reine; Timm, Rainer; Feidenhans'l, Robert; Mikkelsen, Anders; Borgström, Magnus T.; Gustafsson, Anders; Ohlsson, B. Jonas; Monemar, Bo; Samuelson, Lars

2018-04-01

Self-assembled, atomic diffusion controlled growth of InN quantum dots was realized on the side facets of dislocation-free and c-oriented GaN nanowires having a hexagonal cross-section. The nanowires were synthesized by selective area metal organic vapor phase epitaxy. A 3 Å thick InN wetting layer was observed after growth, on top of which the InN quantum dots formed, indicating self-assembly in the Stranski-Krastanow growth mode. We found that the InN quantum dots can be tuned to nucleate either preferentially at the edges between GaN nanowire side facets, or directly on the side facets by tuning the adatom migration by controlling the precursor supersaturation and growth temperature. Structural characterization by transmission electron microscopy and reciprocal space mapping show that the InN quantum dots are close to be fully relaxed (residual strain below 1%) and that the c-planes of the InN quantum dots are tilted with respect to the GaN core. The strain relaxes mainly by the formation of misfit dislocations, observed with a periodicity of 3.2 nm at the InN and GaN hetero-interface. The misfit dislocations introduce I1 type stacking faults (…ABABCBC…) in the InN quantum dots. Photoluminescence investigations of the InN quantum dots show that the emissions shift to higher energy with reduced quantum dot size, which we attribute to increased quantum confinement.

Nucleation mechanisms of epitaxial GaN nanowires: Origin of their self-induced formation and initial radius

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Consonni, V.; Knelangen, M.; Geelhaar, L.; Trampert, A.; Riechert, H.

2010-02-01

The formation mechanisms of epitaxial GaN nanowires grown within a self-induced approach by molecular-beam epitaxy have been investigated at the onset of the nucleation process by combining in situ reflection high-energy electron-diffraction measurements and ex situ high-resolution transmission electron microscopy imaging. It is shown that the self-induced growth of GaN nanowires on the AlN buffer layer is initially governed by the nucleation of dislocation-free coherent islands. These coherent islands develop through a series of shape transitions from spherical caps through truncated to full pyramids in order to elastically relieve the lattice-mismatch-induced strain. A strong correlation between the subsequent process of plastic relaxation and the final shape transition from full pyramids toward the very first nanowires is found. The experimental critical radius at which the misfit dislocation nucleates is in very good agreement with the theoretical critical radius for the formation of the misfit dislocation in full pyramids, showing that the plastic relaxation process does take place within full pyramids: this critical size corresponds to the initial radius of the very first nanowires. We associate the plastic relaxation of the lattice-mismatch-induced strain occurring within full pyramids with a drastic change in their total free energy: this gives rise to a driving force for the shape transition toward the very first nanowires, which is mainly due to the anisotropy of surface energy.

GaSb solar cells grown on GaAs via interfacial misfit arrays for use in the III-Sb multi-junction cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, George T.; Juang, Bor-Chau; Slocum, Michael A.; Bittner, Zachary S.; Laghumavarapu, Ramesh B.; Huffaker, Diana L.; Hubbard, Seth M.

2017-12-01

Growth of GaSb with low threading dislocation density directly on GaAs may be possible with the strategic strain relaxation of interfacial misfit arrays. This creates an opportunity for a multi-junction solar cell with access to a wide range of well-developed direct bandgap materials. Multi-junction cells with a single layer of GaSb/GaAs interfacial misfit arrays could achieve higher efficiency than state-of-the-art inverted metamorphic multi-junction cells while forgoing the need for costly compositionally graded buffer layers. To develop this technology, GaSb single junction cells were grown via molecular beam epitaxy on both GaSb and GaAs substrates to compare homoepitaxial and heteroepitaxial GaSb device results. The GaSb-on-GaSb cell had an AM1.5g efficiency of 5.5% and a 44-sun AM1.5d efficiency of 8.9%. The GaSb-on-GaAs cell was 1.0% efficient under AM1.5g and 4.5% at 44 suns. The lower performance of the heteroepitaxial cell was due to low minority carrier Shockley-Read-Hall lifetimes and bulk shunting caused by defects related to the mismatched growth. A physics-based device simulator was used to create an inverted triple-junction GaInP/GaAs/GaSb model. The model predicted that, with current GaSb-on-GaAs material quality, the not-current-matched, proof-of-concept cell would provide 0.5% absolute efficiency gain over a tandem GaInP/GaAs cell at 1 sun and 2.5% gain at 44 suns, indicating that the effectiveness of the GaSb junction was a function of concentration.

Imaging the in-plane distribution of helium precipitates at a Cu/V interface

DOE PAGES

Chen, Di; Li, Nan; Yuryev, Dina; ...

2017-02-15

Here, we describe a transmission electron microscopy investigation of the distribution of helium precipitates within the plane of an interface between Cu and V. Statistical analysis of precipitate locations reveals a weak tendency for interfacial precipitates to align alongmore » $$\\langle$$110$$\\rangle$$-type crystallographic directions within the Cu layer. Comparison of these findings with helium-free Cu/V interfaces suggests that the precipitates may be aggregating preferentially along atomic-size steps in the interface created by threading dislocations in the Cu layer. Our observations also suggest that some precipitates may be aggregating along intersections between interfacial misfit dislocations.« less

Strain-relief by single dislocation loops in calcite crystals grown on self-assembled monolayers

DOE PAGES

Ihli, Johannes; Clark, Jesse N.; Côté, Alexander S.; ...

2016-06-15

Most of our knowledge of dislocation-mediated stress relaxation during epitaxial crystal growth comes from the study of inorganic heterostructures. In this study, we use Bragg coherent diffraction imaging to investigate a contrasting system, the epitaxial growth of calcite (CaCO 3) crystals on organic self-assembled monolayers, where these are widely used as a model for biomineralization processes. The calcite crystals are imaged to simultaneously visualize the crystal morphology and internal strain fields. Our data reveal that each crystal possesses a single dislocation loop that occupies a common position in every crystal. The loops exhibit entirely different geometries to misfit dislocations generatedmore » in conventional epitaxial thin films and are suggested to form in response to the stress field, arising from interfacial defects and the nanoscale roughness of the substrate. In conclusion, this work provides unique insight into how self-assembled monolayers control the growth of inorganic crystals and demonstrates important differences as compared with inorganic substrates.« less

Strain-relief by single dislocation loops in calcite crystals grown on self-assembled monolayers

PubMed Central

Ihli, Johannes; Clark, Jesse N.; Côté, Alexander S.; Kim, Yi-Yeoun; Schenk, Anna S.; Kulak, Alexander N.; Comyn, Timothy P.; Chammas, Oliver; Harder, Ross J.; Duffy, Dorothy M.; Robinson, Ian K.; Meldrum, Fiona C.

2016-01-01

Most of our knowledge of dislocation-mediated stress relaxation during epitaxial crystal growth comes from the study of inorganic heterostructures. Here we use Bragg coherent diffraction imaging to investigate a contrasting system, the epitaxial growth of calcite (CaCO3) crystals on organic self-assembled monolayers, where these are widely used as a model for biomineralization processes. The calcite crystals are imaged to simultaneously visualize the crystal morphology and internal strain fields. Our data reveal that each crystal possesses a single dislocation loop that occupies a common position in every crystal. The loops exhibit entirely different geometries to misfit dislocations generated in conventional epitaxial thin films and are suggested to form in response to the stress field, arising from interfacial defects and the nanoscale roughness of the substrate. This work provides unique insight into how self-assembled monolayers control the growth of inorganic crystals and demonstrates important differences as compared with inorganic substrates. PMID:27302863

Stress generated modifications of epitaxial ferroelectric SrTiO3 films on sapphire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hollmann, E.; Schubert, J.; Kutzner, R.; Wördenweber, R.

2009-06-01

The effect of lattice-mismatch induced stress upon the crystallographic structure, strain, strain relaxation, and the generation of different types of defects in heteroepitaxially grown SrTiO3 films on CeO2 buffered sapphire is examined. Depending on the thickness of the SrTiO3 layer, characteristic changes in the structural perfection of the layers, their crystallographic orientation with respect to the substrate system, and their strain is observed. For thin films misfit dislocations partially compensate the stress in the SrTiO3 layer, whereas cracks develop in thicker SrTiO3 films. The cracks are orientated along two predominant crystallographic orientations of the sapphire. The structural modifications and the formation of misfit defects and cracks are explained in a model based on lattice misfit induced stress, on the one hand, and energy considerations taking into account the stress release due to crack formation and the energy necessary for the formation of new surfaces at the crack, on the other hand. The impact of lattice misfit is discussed in two steps, i.e., intrinsic and thermal induced misfits during heteroepitaxial film growth at a given temperature and the subsequent cooling of the sample, respectively. The comparison of the theoretical predictions and the experimental observations demonstrate that intrinsic mismatch and thermal mismatch have to be considered in order to explain strain dependent effects in complex heteroepitaxial layer systems such as induced ferroelectricity of SrTiO3 on sapphire.

Understanding misfit strain releasing mechanisms via molecular dynamics simulations of CdTe growth on {112}zinc-blende CdS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhou, Xiaowang; Chavez, Jose J.; Almeida, Sergio F.

Molecular dynamics simulations have been used to analyse microstructures of CdTe films grown on {112} surfaces of zinc-blende CdS. Interestingly, CdTe films grow in <331> orientations as opposed to <112> epitaxial orientations. At the CdTe-{331}/CdS-{112} interface, however, there exists an axis that is parallel to the <110> orientation of both CdS and CdTe. It is the direction orthogonal to this <110> that becomes different, being <116> for CdTe and <111> for CdS, respectively. Missing CdTe-{110} planes are found along the <110> axis, suggesting that the misfit strain is released by the conventional misfit dislocation mechanism along this axis. In themore » orthogonal axis, the misfit strain is found to be more effectively released by the new grain orientation mechanism. Our finding is supported by literature experimental observations of the change of growth direction when Cd 0.96Zn 0.04Te films are deposited on GaAs. Lastly the analyses of energetics clearly demonstrate the cause for the formation of the new orientation, and the insights gained from our studies can help understand the grain structures experimentally observed in lattice mismatched systems.« less

Understanding misfit strain releasing mechanisms via molecular dynamics simulations of CdTe growth on {112}zinc-blende CdS

DOE PAGES

Zhou, Xiaowang; Chavez, Jose J.; Almeida, Sergio F.; ...

2016-07-25

Molecular dynamics simulations have been used to analyse microstructures of CdTe films grown on {112} surfaces of zinc-blende CdS. Interestingly, CdTe films grow in <331> orientations as opposed to <112> epitaxial orientations. At the CdTe-{331}/CdS-{112} interface, however, there exists an axis that is parallel to the <110> orientation of both CdS and CdTe. It is the direction orthogonal to this <110> that becomes different, being <116> for CdTe and <111> for CdS, respectively. Missing CdTe-{110} planes are found along the <110> axis, suggesting that the misfit strain is released by the conventional misfit dislocation mechanism along this axis. In themore » orthogonal axis, the misfit strain is found to be more effectively released by the new grain orientation mechanism. Our finding is supported by literature experimental observations of the change of growth direction when Cd 0.96Zn 0.04Te films are deposited on GaAs. Lastly the analyses of energetics clearly demonstrate the cause for the formation of the new orientation, and the insights gained from our studies can help understand the grain structures experimentally observed in lattice mismatched systems.« less

MOCVD growth of gallium nitride with indium surfactant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Won, Dong Jin

In this thesis research, the effect of indium surfactant on Ga-polar and N-polar GaN films grown at 950 °C by MOCVD on various substrates such as Si-face SiC, bulk GaN, Si(111), and C-face SiC was studied to investigate the stress relaxation mechanism, structural, and optical properties of GaN films which were modified by the indium surfactant. The effect of indium surfactant on GaN films grown on SiC was studied first. In the 1.8 microm thick Ga-polar GaN films grown on lattice-mismatched Si-face SiC substrates utilizing indium surfactant at 950 °C, inverted hexagonal pyramid surface defects, so-called V-defects which consist of six (1011) planes, formed at threading dislocations on the GaN surface, which gave rise to the relaxation of compressive misfit stress in an elastic way. Simultaneously, enhanced surface mobility of Ga and N adatoms with indium surfactant lead to improved 2D growth, which may be contradictory to the formation of surface defects like V-defects. In order to find the driving force for V-defect formation in the presence of indium, a nucleation and growth model was developed, taking into consideration the strain, surface, and dislocation energies modified by indium surfactant. This model found that the V-defect formation can be energetically preferred since indium reduces the surface energy of the (1011) plane, which gives rise to the V-defect formation and growth that can overcome the energy barrier at the critical radius of the V-defect. These Ga-polar GaN films were found to be unintentionally doped with Si. Thus, an investigation into the effect of intentional Si doping at a constant TMIn flow rate on GaN films was also performed. Si turned out to be another important factor in the generation of V-defects because Si may be captured at the threading dislocation cores by forming Si -- N bonds, acting as a mask to locally prevent GaN growth. This behavior appeared to assist the initiation of the V-defect which enables V-defects to easily grow beyond the critical radius. Thus, introduction of indium surfactant and Si doping was found to be the most favorable conditions for V-defect formation in Ga-polar GaN films grown on Si-face SiC substrates. The nucleation and growth model predicted that V-defects may not form in homoepitaxy because the energy barrier for V-defect formation approaches infinity due to zero misfit stress. When indium surfactant and Si dopant were introduced simultaneously during the homoepitaxial growth, V-defects did not form in 1.8 microm thick Ga-polar GaN films grown at 950 °C on bulk GaN that had very low threading dislocation density, as predicted by the nucleation and growth model. Ga-polar GaN films grown on Si(111) substrates using indium surfactant showed that additional tensile stress was induced by indium with respect to the reference GaN. Since cracking is known to be a stress relaxation mechanism for tension, the In-induced additional tensile stress is thus detrimental to the GaN films which experience the tensile thermal stress associated with the difference in coefficient of thermal expansion between GaN and the substrate during cooling after growth. The generation of tensile stress by indium seemed correlated with a reduction of V-defects since a high density of V-defects formed under the initial compressive stress at the GaN nucleation stage and then V-defect density decreased as the film grew. Even though the initial misfit stress of the GaN film grown on Si(111) was lower than that of GaN grown on SiC, a high density of V-defects were created under the initial compressive stress. Therefore, the high density of threading dislocations was believed to strongly drive the V-defect formation under In-rich conditions. Consequently, without using high quality bulk GaN substrates, V-defects could not be avoided in Ga-polar GaN films grown on foreign substrates such as Si-face SiC and Si(111) in the presence of indium surfactant and Si dopants during growth. Thus, N-polar GaN films were investigated using vicinal C-face SiC substrates because a theoretical study utilizing first-principles calculations predicted that V-defects are not energetically favored on the N-face GaN. When indium surfactant and Si doping were used during N-polar GaN growth, V-defects did not form, as predicted by theory. This observation suggests that V-defect free N-polar InGaN alloys also can be achieved, which may enable stable green laser diodes with long lifetime to be fabricated using the high indium composition N-polar InGaN films. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Defects, strain relaxation, and compositional grading in high indium content InGaN epilayers grown by molecular beam epitaxy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bazioti, C.; Kehagias, Th.; Pavlidou, E.

2015-10-21

We investigate the structural properties of a series of high alloy content InGaN epilayers grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy, employing the deposition temperature as variable under invariant element fluxes. Using transmission electron microscopy methods, distinct strain relaxation modes were observed, depending on the indium content attained through temperature adjustment. At lower indium contents, strain relaxation by V-pit formation dominated, with concurrent formation of an indium-rich interfacial zone. With increasing indium content, this mechanism was gradually substituted by the introduction of a self-formed strained interfacial InGaN layer of lower indium content, as well as multiple intrinsic basal stacking faults andmore » threading dislocations in the rest of the film. We show that this interfacial layer is not chemically abrupt and that major plastic strain relaxation through defect introduction commences upon reaching a critical indium concentration as a result of compositional pulling. Upon further increase of the indium content, this relaxation mode was again gradually succeeded by the increase in the density of misfit dislocations at the InGaN/GaN interface, leading eventually to the suppression of the strained InGaN layer and basal stacking faults.« less

Modeling elasticity in crystal growth.

PubMed

Elder, K R; Katakowski, Mark; Haataja, Mikko; Grant, Martin

2002-06-17

A new model of crystal growth is presented that describes the phenomena on atomic length and diffusive time scales. The former incorporates elastic and plastic deformation in a natural manner, and the latter enables access to time scales much larger than conventional atomic methods. The model is shown to be consistent with the predictions of Read and Shockley for grain boundary energy, and Matthews and Blakeslee for misfit dislocations in epitaxial growth.

Dislocation-driven growth of two-dimensional lateral quantum-well superlattices

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhou, Wu; Zhang, Yu -Yang; Chen, Jianyi

Here, the advent of two-dimensional (2D) materials has led to extensive studies of heterostructures for novel applications. 2D lateral multiheterojunctions and superlattices have been recently demonstrated, but the available growth methods can only produce features with widths in the micrometer or, at best, 100-nm scale and usually result in rough and defective interfaces with extensive chemical intermixing. Widths smaller than 5 nm, which are needed for quantum confinement effects and quantum-well applications, have not been achieved. We demonstrate the growth of sub–2-nm quantum-well arrays in semiconductor monolayers, driven by the climb of misfit dislocations in a lattice-mismatched sulfide/selenide heterointerface. Densitymore » functional theory calculations provide an atom-by-atom description of the growth mechanism. The calculated energy bands reveal type II alignment suitable for quantum wells, suggesting that the structure could, in principle, be turned into a “conduit” of conductive nanoribbons for interconnects in future 2D integrated circuits via n-type modulation doping. This misfit dislocation–driven growth can be applied to different combinations of 2D monolayers with lattice mismatch, paving the way to a wide range of 2D quantum-well superlattices with controllable band alignment and nanoscale width.« less

Dislocation-driven growth of two-dimensional lateral quantum-well superlattices

DOE PAGES

Zhou, Wu; Zhang, Yu -Yang; Chen, Jianyi; ...

2018-03-23

Here, the advent of two-dimensional (2D) materials has led to extensive studies of heterostructures for novel applications. 2D lateral multiheterojunctions and superlattices have been recently demonstrated, but the available growth methods can only produce features with widths in the micrometer or, at best, 100-nm scale and usually result in rough and defective interfaces with extensive chemical intermixing. Widths smaller than 5 nm, which are needed for quantum confinement effects and quantum-well applications, have not been achieved. We demonstrate the growth of sub–2-nm quantum-well arrays in semiconductor monolayers, driven by the climb of misfit dislocations in a lattice-mismatched sulfide/selenide heterointerface. Densitymore » functional theory calculations provide an atom-by-atom description of the growth mechanism. The calculated energy bands reveal type II alignment suitable for quantum wells, suggesting that the structure could, in principle, be turned into a “conduit” of conductive nanoribbons for interconnects in future 2D integrated circuits via n-type modulation doping. This misfit dislocation–driven growth can be applied to different combinations of 2D monolayers with lattice mismatch, paving the way to a wide range of 2D quantum-well superlattices with controllable band alignment and nanoscale width.« less

Characterization of a gate-defined double quantum dot in a Si/SiGe nanomembrane

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knapp, T. J.; Mohr, R. T.; Li, Yize Stephanie; Thorgrimsson, Brandur; Foote, Ryan H.; Wu, Xian; Ward, Daniel R.; Savage, D. E.; Lagally, M. G.; Friesen, Mark; Coppersmith, S. N.; Eriksson, M. A.

We report the characterization of a gate-defined double quantum dot formed in a Si/SiGe nanomembrane. Previously, all heterostructures used to form quantum dots were created using the strain-grading method of strain relaxation, a method that necessarily introduces misfit dislocations into a heterostructure and thereby degrades the reproducibility of quantum devices. Using a SiGe nanomembrane as a virtual substrate eliminates the need for misfit dislocations but requires a wet-transfer process that results in a non-epitaxial interface in close proximity to the quantum dots. We show that this interface does not prevent the formation of quantum dots, and is compatible with a tunable inter-dot tunnel coupling, the identification of spin states, and the measurement of a singlet-to-triplet transition as a function of the applied magnetic field. This work was supported in part by ARO (W911NF-12-0607), NSF (DMR-1206915, PHY-1104660), and the United States Department of Defense. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the author and should not be interpreted as representing the official policies, either expressly or implied, of the US Government. T.J. Knapp et al. (2015). arXiv:1510.08888 [cond-mat.mes-hall].

Dislocation gliding and cross-hatch morphology formation in AIII-BV epitaxial heterostructures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kovalskiy, V. A., E-mail: kovalva@iptm.ru; Vergeles, P. S.; Eremenko, V. G.

2014-12-08

An approach for understanding the origin of cross-hatch pattern (CHP) on the surface of lattice mismatched GaMnAs/InGaAs samples grown on GaAs (001) substrates is developed. It is argued that the motion of threading dislocations in the (111) slip planes during the relaxation of InGaAs buffer layer is more complicated process and its features are similar to the ones of dislocation half-loops gliding in plastically deformed crystals. The heterostructures were characterized by atomic force microscopy and electron beam induced current (EBIC). Detailed EBIC experiments revealed contrast features, which cannot be accounted for by the electrical activity of misfit dislocations at themore » buffer/substrate interface. We attribute these features to specific extended defects (EDs) generated by moving threading dislocations in the partially relaxed InGaAs layers. We believe that the core topology, surface reconstruction, and elastic strains from these EDs accommodated in slip planes play an important role in the CHP formation. The study of such electrically active EDs will allow further understanding of degradation and changes in characteristics of quantum devices based on strained heterostructures.« less

Structural evaluation of InAsP/InGaAsP strained-layer superlattices with dislocations as grown by metal-organic molecular beam epitaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakashima, Kiichi; Sugiura, Hideo

1997-08-01

The relaxation process in InAsP/InGaAsP strained-layer superlattices (SLSs) with interfacial misfit dislocations has been investigated systematically by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and x-ray analyses. The TEM analysis reveals that dislocations locate a little inside the buffer layer near the interface between the buffer and first well layer in the SLS. The x-ray analysis of (400) azimuthal angle dependence indicates the buffer layer has a large macroscopic tilt. Using a curve fitting analysis of various (hkl) x-ray profiles and reciprocal lattice mapping measurements, residual strain was determined quantitatively, i.e., Δa∥ and Δa⊥, in the SLS and buffer layer. These results reveal that the dislocations mainly cause lattice distortion of the buffer layer rather than relaxation of the SLS layer. The most remarkable result is that the change of a∥ is not equal to that of a⊥ in the buffer layer. This phenomenon strongly suggests that microplastic domains are generated in the buffer layer.

Preferential nucleation, guiding, and blocking of self-propelled droplets by dislocations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanjanachuchai, Songphol; Wongpinij, Thipusa; Kijamnajsuk, Suphakan; Himwas, Chalermchai; Panyakeow, Somsak; Photongkam, Pat

2018-04-01

Lattice-mismatched layers of GaAs/InGaAs are grown on GaAs(001) using molecular beam epitaxy and subsequently heated in vacuum while the surface is imaged in situ using low-energy electron microscopy, in order to study (i) the nucleation of group-III droplets formed as a result of noncongruent sublimation and (ii) the dynamics of these self-propelled droplets as they navigate the surface. It is found that the interfacial misfit dislocation network not only influences the nucleation sites of droplets, but also exerts unusual steering power over their subsequent motion. Atypical droplet flow patterns including 90° and 180° turns are found. The directions of these dislocations-guided droplets are qualitatively explained in terms of in-plane and out-of-plane stress fields associated with the buried dislocations and the driving forces due to chemical potential and stress gradients typical of Marangoni flow. The findings would benefit processes and devices that employ droplets as catalysts or active structures such as droplet epitaxy of quantum nanostructures, vapor-liquid-solid growth of nanowires, or the fabrication of self-integrated circuits.

Tailoring the strain in Si nano-structures for defect-free epitaxial Ge over growth.

PubMed

Zaumseil, P; Yamamoto, Y; Schubert, M A; Capellini, G; Skibitzki, O; Zoellner, M H; Schroeder, T

2015-09-04

We investigate the structural properties and strain state of Ge nano-structures selectively grown on Si pillars of about 60 nm diameter with different SiGe buffer layers. A matrix of TEOS SiO2 surrounding the Si nano-pillars causes a tensile strain in the top part at the growth temperature of the buffer that reduces the misfit and supports defect-free initial growth. Elastic relaxation plays the dominant role in the further increase of the buffer thickness and subsequent Ge deposition. This method leads to Ge nanostructures on Si that are free from misfit dislocations and other structural defects, which is not the case for direct Ge deposition on these pillar structures. The Ge content of the SiGe buffer is thereby not a critical parameter; it may vary over a relatively wide range.

Anisotropic strain relaxation in (Ba0.6Sr0.4)TiO3 epitaxial thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simon, W. K.; Akdogan, E. K.; Safari, A.

2005-05-01

We have studied the evolution of anisotropic epitaxial strains in ⟨110⟩-oriented (Ba0.60Sr0.40)TiO3 paraelectric (m3m) thin films grown on orthorhombic (mm2) ⟨100⟩-oriented NdGaO3 by high-resolution x-ray diffractometry. All the six independent components of the three-dimensional strain tensor were measured in films with 25-1200-nm thickness, from which the principal stresses and strains were obtained. Pole figure analysis indicated that the epitaxial relations are [001]m3m‖[001]mm2 and [1¯10]m3m‖[010]mm2 in the plane of the film, and [110]m3m‖[100]mm2 along the growth direction. The dislocation system responsible for strain relief along [001] has been determined to be ∣b ∣(001)=3/4∣b∣. Strain relief along the [1¯10] direction, on the other hand, has been determined to be due to a coupled mechanism given by ∣b∣(1¯10)=∣b∣ and ∣b∣(1¯10)=√3 /4∣b∣. Critical thicknesses, as determined from nonlinear regression using the Matthews-Blakeslee equation, for misfit dislocation formation along [001] and [1¯10] direction were found to be 5 and 7 nm, respectively. The residual strain energy density was calculated as ˜2.9×106J/m3 at 25 nm, which was found to relax an order of magnitude by 200 nm. At 200 nm, the linear dislocation density along [001] and [1¯10] are ˜6.5×105 and ˜6×105cm-1, respectively. For films thicker than 600 nm, additional strain relief occurred through surface undulations, indicating that this secondary strain-relief mechanism is a volume effect that sets in upon cooling from the growth temperature.

Structure and Mobility of Dissociated Vacancies at Twist Grain Boundaries and Screw Dislocations in Ionic Rocksalt Compounds

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kolluri, Kedarnath; Martinez Saez, Enrique; Uberuaga, Blas Pedro

Interfaces, grain boundaries, and dislocations are known to have significant impact on the transport properties of materials. Even so, it is still not clear how the structure of interfaces influences the mobility and concentration of carriers that are responsible for transport. Using low angle twist grain boundaries in MgO as a model system, we examine the structural and kinetic properties of vacancies. These boundaries are characterized by a network of screw dislocations. Vacancies of both types, Mg and O, are strongly attracted to the dislocation network, residing preferentially at the misfit dislocation intersections (MDIs). However, the vacancies can lower theirmore » energy by splitting into two parts, which then repel each other along the dislocation line between two MDIs, further lowering their energy. This dissociated structure has important consequences for transport, as the free energy of the dissociated vacancies decreases with decreasing twist angle, leading to an increase in the net migration barrier for diffusion as revealed by molecular dynamics simulations. Similar behavior is observed in BaO and NaCl, highlighting the generality of the behavior. Finally, we analyze the structure of the dissociated vacancies as a pair of jogs on the dislocation and construct a model containing electrostatic and elastic contributions that qualitatively describe the energetics of the dissociated vacancy. Our results represent the first validation of a mechanism for vacancy dissociation on screw dislocations in ionic materials first discussed by Thomson and Balluffi in 1962.« less

A phase field dislocation dynamics model for a bicrystal interface system: An investigation into dislocation slip transmission across cube-on-cube interfaces

DOE PAGES

Zeng, Y.; Hunter, A.; Beyerlein, I. J.; ...

2015-09-14

In this study, we present a phase field dislocation dynamics formulation designed to treat a system comprised of two materials differing in moduli and lattice parameters that meet at a common interface. We apply the model to calculate the critical stress τ crit required to transmit a perfect dislocation across the bimaterial interface with a cube-on-cube orientation relationship. The calculation of τ crit accounts for the effects of: 1) the lattice mismatch (misfit or coherency stresses), 2) the elastic moduli mismatch (Koehler forces or image stresses), and 3) the formation of the residual dislocation in the interface. Our results showmore » that the value of τ crit associated with the transmission of a dislocation from material 1 to material 2 is not the same as that from material 2 to material 1. Dislocation transmission from the material with the lower shear modulus and larger lattice parameter tends to be easier than the reverse and this apparent asymmetry in τ crit generally increases with increases in either lattice or moduli mismatch or both. In efforts to clarify the roles of lattice and moduli mismatch, we construct an analytical model for τcrit based on the formation energy of the residual dislocation. We show that path dependence in this energetic barrier can explain the asymmetry seen in the calculated τ crit values.« less

Structure and Mobility of Dissociated Vacancies at Twist Grain Boundaries and Screw Dislocations in Ionic Rocksalt Compounds

DOE PAGES

Kolluri, Kedarnath; Martinez Saez, Enrique; Uberuaga, Blas Pedro

2018-03-05

Interfaces, grain boundaries, and dislocations are known to have significant impact on the transport properties of materials. Even so, it is still not clear how the structure of interfaces influences the mobility and concentration of carriers that are responsible for transport. Using low angle twist grain boundaries in MgO as a model system, we examine the structural and kinetic properties of vacancies. These boundaries are characterized by a network of screw dislocations. Vacancies of both types, Mg and O, are strongly attracted to the dislocation network, residing preferentially at the misfit dislocation intersections (MDIs). However, the vacancies can lower theirmore » energy by splitting into two parts, which then repel each other along the dislocation line between two MDIs, further lowering their energy. This dissociated structure has important consequences for transport, as the free energy of the dissociated vacancies decreases with decreasing twist angle, leading to an increase in the net migration barrier for diffusion as revealed by molecular dynamics simulations. Similar behavior is observed in BaO and NaCl, highlighting the generality of the behavior. Finally, we analyze the structure of the dissociated vacancies as a pair of jogs on the dislocation and construct a model containing electrostatic and elastic contributions that qualitatively describe the energetics of the dissociated vacancy. Our results represent the first validation of a mechanism for vacancy dissociation on screw dislocations in ionic materials first discussed by Thomson and Balluffi in 1962.« less

Oxide surfaces and metal/oxide interfaces studied by grazing incidence X-ray scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Renaud, Gilles

Experimental determinations of the atomic structure of insulating oxide surfaces and metal/oxide interfaces are scarce, because surface science techniques are often limited by the insulating character of the substrate. Grazing incidence X-ray scattering (GIXS), which is not subject to charge effects, can provide very precise information on the atomic structure of oxide surfaces: roughness, relaxation and reconstruction. It is also well adapted to analyze the atomic structure, the registry, the misfit relaxation, elastic or plastic, the growth mode and the morphology of metal/oxide interfaces during their growth, performed in situ. GIXS also allows the analysis of thin films and buried interfaces, in a non-destructive way, yielding the epitaxial relationships, and, by variation of the grazing incidence angle, the lattice parameter relaxation along the growth direction. On semi-coherent interfaces, the existence of an ordered network of interfacial misfit dislocations can be demonstrated, its Burger's vector determined, its ordering during in situ annealing cycles followed, and sometimes even its atomic structure can be addressed. Careful analysis during growth allows the modeling of the dislocation nucleation process. This review emphasizes the new information that GIXS can bring to oxide surfaces and metal/oxide interfaces by comparison with other surface science techniques. The principles of X-ray diffraction by surfaces and interfaces are recalled, together with the advantages and properties of grazing angles. The specific experimental requirements are discussed. Recent results are presented on the determination of the atomic structure of relaxed or reconstructed oxide surfaces. A description of results obtained during the in situ growth of metal on oxide surfaces is also given, as well as investigations of thick metal films on oxide surfaces, with lattice parameter misfit relaxed by an array of dislocations. Recent work performed on oxide thin films having important physical properties such as superconductivity or magnetism is also briefly reviewed. The strengths and limitations of the technique, such as the need for single crystals and surfaces of high crystalline quality are discussed. Finally, an outlook of future prospects in the field is given, such as the study of more complex oxide surfaces, vicinal surfaces, reactive metal/oxide interfaces, metal oxidation processes, the use of surfactants to promote wetting of a metal deposited on an oxide surface or the study of oxide/liquid interfaces in a non-UHV environment.

Estimation of dislocations density and distribution of dislocations during ECAP-Conform process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Derakhshan, Jaber Fakhimi; Parsa, Mohammad Habibi; Ayati, Vahid; Jafarian, Hamidreza

2018-01-01

Dislocation density of coarse grain aluminum AA1100 alloy (140 µm) that was severely deformed by Equal Channel Angular Pressing-Conform (ECAP-Conform) are studied at various stages of the process by electron backscattering diffraction (EBSD) method. The geometrically necessary dislocations (GNDs) density and statistically stored dislocations (SSDs) densities were estimate. Then the total dislocations densities are calculated and the dislocation distributions are presented as the contour maps. Estimated average dislocations density for annealed of about 2×1012 m-2 increases to 4×1013 m-2 at the middle of the groove (135° from the entrance), and they reach to 6.4×1013 m-2 at the end of groove just before ECAP region. Calculated average dislocations density for one pass severely deformed Al sample reached to 6.2×1014 m-2. At micrometer scale the behavior of metals especially mechanical properties largely depend on the dislocation density and dislocation distribution. So, yield stresses at different conditions were estimated based on the calculated dislocation densities. Then estimated yield stresses were compared with experimental results and good agreements were found. Although grain size of material did not clearly change, yield stress shown intensive increase due to the development of cell structure. A considerable increase in dislocations density in this process is a good justification for forming subgrains and cell structures during process which it can be reason of increasing in yield stress.

Transmission electron microscopy study of microstructural properties and dislocation characterization in the GaN film grown on the cone-shaped patterned Al2O3 substrate.

PubMed

Park, Jung Sik; Yang, Jun-Mo; Park, Kyung Jin; Park, Yun Chang; Yoo, Jung Ho; Jeong, Chil Seong; Park, Jucheol; He, Yinsheng; Shin, Keesam

2014-02-01

Growing a GaN film on a patterned Al2O3 substrate is one of the methods of reducing threading dislocations (TDs), which can significantly deteriorate the performance of GaN-based LEDs. In this study, the microstructural details of the GaN film grown on a cone-shaped patterned Al2O3 substrate were investigated using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and weak-beam dark-field techniques. Various defects such as misfit dislocations (MDs), recrystallized GaN (R-GaN) islands and nano-voids were observed on the patterned Al2O3 surfaces, i.e. the flat surface (FS), the inclined surface (IS) and the top surface (TS), respectively. Especially, the crystallographic orientation of R-GaN between the GaN film and the inclined Al2O3 substrate was identified as $[\\overline 1 2\\overline 1 0]_{{\\rm GaN}} \\hbox{//}[\\overline 1 101]_{{\\rm R - GaN} \\,{\\rm on}\\,{\\rm IS}} \\hbox{//}[\\overline 1 100]_{ {{\\rm Al}} _{\\rm 2} {\\rm O}_{\\rm 3}} $, $(\\overline 1 012)_{{\\rm GaN}} \\hbox{//}(1\\overline 1 02)_{{\\rm R - Ga}\\,{\\rm Non}\\,{\\rm IS}} \\hbox{//}(\\overline {11} 26)_{ {{\\rm Al}} _{\\rm 2} {\\rm O}_{\\rm 3}} $. In addition, a rotation by 9° between $(10\\overline 1 1)_{{\\rm R - GaN}} $ and $(0002)_{{\\rm GaN}} $ and between $(10\\overline 1 1)_{{\\rm R - GaN}} $ and $(0006)_{ {{\\rm Al}} _{\\rm 2} {\\rm O}_{\\rm 3}} $ was found to reduce the lattice mismatch between the GaN film and the Al2O3 substrate. Many TDs in the GaN film were observed on the FS and TS of Al2O3. However, few TDs were observed on the IS. Most of the TDs generated from the FS of Al2O3 were bent to the inclined facet rather than propagating to the GaN surface, resulting in a reduction in the dislocation density. Most of the TDs generated from the TS of Al2O3 were characterized as edge dislocations.

Strain Relaxation in Si{sub 1-x}Ge{sub x} Thin Films on Si(100) Substrates: Modeling and Comparisons with Experiments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kolluri, K; Zepeda-Ruiz, L A; Murthy, C S

2005-03-22

Strained semiconductor thin films grown epitaxially on semiconductor substrates of different composition, such as Si{sub 1-x}Ge{sub x}/Si, are becoming increasingly important in modern microelectronic technologies. In this paper, we report a hierarchical computational approach for analysis of dislocation formation, glide motion, multiplication, and annihilation in Si{sub 1-x}Ge{sub x} epitaxial thin films on Si substrates. Specifically, a condition is developed for determining the critical film thickness with respect to misfit dislocation generation as a function of overall film composition, film compositional grading, and (compliant) substrate thickness. In addition, the kinetics of strain relaxation in the epitaxial film during growth or thermalmore » annealing (including post-implantation annealing) is analyzed using a properly parameterized dislocation mean-field theoretical model, which describes plastic deformation dynamics due to threading dislocation propagation. The theoretical results for Si{sub 1-x}Ge{sub x} epitaxial thin films grown on Si (100) substrates are compared with experimental measurements and are used to discuss film growth and thermal processing protocols toward optimizing the mechanical response of the epitaxial film.« less

Epitaxial Growth of Cubic Crystalline Semiconductor Alloys on Basal Plane of Trigonal or Hexagonal Crystal

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Park, Yeonjoon (Inventor); Choi, Sang H. (Inventor); King, Glen C. (Inventor)

2011-01-01

Hetero-epitaxial semiconductor materials comprising cubic crystalline semiconductor alloys grown on the basal plane of trigonal and hexagonal substrates, in which misfit dislocations are reduced by approximate lattice matching of the cubic crystal structure to underlying trigonal or hexagonal substrate structure, enabling the development of alloyed semiconductor layers of greater thickness, resulting in a new class of semiconductor materials and corresponding devices, including improved hetero-bipolar and high-electron mobility transistors, and high-mobility thermoelectric devices.

Low-dislocation-density epitatial layers grown by defect filtering by self-assembled layers of spheres

DOEpatents

Wang, George T.; Li, Qiming

2013-04-23

A method for growing low-dislocation-density material atop a layer of the material with an initially higher dislocation density using a monolayer of spheroidal particles to bend and redirect or directly block vertically propagating threading dislocations, thereby enabling growth and coalescence to form a very-low-dislocation-density surface of the material, and the structures made by this method.

A Lattice-Misfit-Dependent Damage Model for Non-linear Damage Accumulations Under Monotonous Creep in Single Crystal Superalloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

le Graverend, J.-B.

2018-05-01

A lattice-misfit-dependent damage density function is developed to predict the non-linear accumulation of damage when a thermal jump from 1050 °C to 1200 °C is introduced somewhere in the creep life. Furthermore, a phenomenological model aimed at describing the evolution of the constrained lattice misfit during monotonous creep load is also formulated. The response of the lattice-misfit-dependent plasticity-coupled damage model is compared with the experimental results obtained at 140 and 160 MPa on the first generation Ni-based single crystal superalloy MC2. The comparison reveals that the damage model is well suited at 160 MPa and less at 140 MPa because the transfer of stress to the γ' phase occurs for stresses above 150 MPa which leads to larger variations and, therefore, larger effects of the constrained lattice misfit on the lifetime during thermo-mechanical loading.

Density of bunched threading dislocations in epitaxial GaN layers as determined using X-ray diffraction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barchuk, M.; Holý, V.; Rafaja, D.

2018-04-01

X-ray diffraction is one of the most popular experimental methods employed for determination of dislocation densities, as it can recognize both the strain fields and the local lattice rotations produced by dislocations. The main challenge of the quantitative analysis of the dislocation density is the formulation of a suitable microstructure model, which describes the dislocation arrangement and the effect of the interactions between the strain fields from neighboring dislocations reliably in order to be able to determine the dislocation densities precisely. The aim of this study is to prove the capability of X-ray diffraction and two computational methods, which are frequently used for quantification of the threading dislocation densities from X-ray diffraction measurements, in the special case of partially bunched threading dislocations. The first method is based on the analysis of the dislocation-controlled crystal mosaicity, and the other one on the analysis of diffuse X-ray scattering from threading dislocations. The complementarity of both methods is discussed. Furthermore, it is shown how the complementarity of these methods can be used to improve the results of the quantitative analysis of bunched and thus inhomogeneously distributed threading dislocations and to get a better insight into the dislocation arrangement.

Strain distributions and their influence on electronic structures of WSe2-MoS2 laterally strained heterojunctions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Chendong; Li, Ming-Yang; Tersoff, Jerry; Han, Yimo; Su, Yushan; Li, Lain-Jong; Muller, David A.; Shih, Chih-Kang

2018-02-01

Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenide heterojunctions, including vertical and lateral p-n junctions, have attracted considerable attention due to their potential applications in electronics and optoelectronics. Lattice-misfit strain in atomically abrupt lateral heterojunctions, such as WSe2-MoS2, offers a new band-engineering strategy for tailoring their electronic properties. However, this approach requires an understanding of the strain distribution and its effect on band alignment. Here, we study a WSe2-MoS2 lateral heterojunction using scanning tunnelling microscopy and image its moiré pattern to map the full two-dimensional strain tensor with high spatial resolution. Using scanning tunnelling spectroscopy, we measure both the strain and the band alignment of the WSe2-MoS2 lateral heterojunction. We find that the misfit strain induces type II to type I band alignment transformation. Scanning transmission electron microscopy reveals the dislocations at the interface that partially relieve the strain. Finally, we observe a distinctive electronic structure at the interface due to hetero-bonding.

Evaluation of stacking faults and associated partial dislocations in AlSb/GaAs (001) interface by aberration-corrected high-resolution transmission electron microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wen, C.; Ge, B. H.; Cui, Y. X.; Li, F. H.; Zhu, J.; Yu, R.; Cheng, Z. Y.

2014-11-01

The stacking faults (SFs) in an AlSb/GaAs (001) interface were investigated using a 300 kV spherical aberration-corrected high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM). The structure and strain distribution of the single and intersecting (V-shaped) SFs associated with partial dislocations (PDs) were characterized by the [110] HRTEM images and geometric phase analysis, respectively. In the biaxial strain maps ɛxx and ɛyy, a SF can be divided into several sections under different strain states (positive or negative strain values). Furthermore, the strain state for the same section of a SF is in contrast to each other in ɛxx and ɛyy strain maps. The modification in the strain states was attributed to the variation in the local atomic displacements for the SF in the AlSb film on the GaAs substrate recorded in the lattice image. Finally, the single SF was found to be bounded by two 30° PDs. A pair of 30° PDs near the heteroepitaxial interface reacted to form a Lomer-Cottrell sessile dislocation located at the vertices of V-shaped SFs with opposite screw components. The roles of misfit dislocations, such as the PDs, in strain relaxation were also discussed.

Study of the structure of a thin aluminum layer on the vicinal surface of a gallium arsenide substrate by high-resolution electron microscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lovygin, M. V., E-mail: lemi@miee.ru; Borgardt, N. I.; Seibt, M.

2015-12-15

The results of electron-microscopy studies of a thin epitaxial aluminum layer deposited onto a misoriented gallium-arsenide substrate are reported. It is established that the layer consists of differently oriented grains, whose crystal lattices are coherently conjugated with the substrate with the formation of misfit dislocations, as in the case of a layer on a singular substrate. Atomic steps on the substrate surface are visualized, and their influence on the growth of aluminum crystal grains is discussed.

Burgers vector content of an interfacial ledge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonnet, R.; Loubradou, M.; Pénisson, J. M.

1992-07-01

A new way of investigating the elastic field around a ledge of a faceted interface is proposed for crystalline materials. The length and/or angular misfits along two adjacent facets are accommodated by slightly deforming the atomic structural units with an appropriate distribution of translation dislocations. The Burgers vector content of the ledge is not defined as usual from a circuit crossing the interface twice, a method which proves to be sometimes misleading. An example treats, at the atomic scale, an unusual ledge of the interface TiAl/Ti3Al.

Dislocation density evolution in the process of high-temperature treatment and creep of EK-181 steel

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vershinina, Tatyana, E-mail: vershinina@bsu.edu.ru

2017-03-15

X-ray diffraction has been used to study the dislocation structure in ferrite-martensite high-chromium steel EK-181 in the states after heat treatment and high-temperature creep. The influence of heat treatment and stress on evolution of lath martensite structure was investigated by and electron back-scattered diffraction. The effect of nitrogen content on the total dislocation density, fraction of edge and screw dislocation segments are analyzed. - Highlights: •Fraction of edge dislocation in quenched state depends on nitrogen concentration. •Nitrogen affects the character of dislocation structure evolution during annealing. •Edge dislocations fraction influences on dislocation density after aging and creep.

Dislocation Density Reduction in Cadmium Telluride and Mercury Cadmium Telluride Grown on Silicon Using Thermal Cycle Annealing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farrell, Stuart Bennett

Mercury Cadmium Telluride (HgCdTe) is a material of great importance for infrared focal plane array applications. In order to produce large format detector arrays this material needs to be grown on a large area substrate, with silicon being the most mature substrate, it is the optimal choice for large format arrays. To help mitigate the effect of the lattice mismatch between the two materials, cadmium telluride (CdTe) is used as a buffer layer. The CdTe itself has nearly the same lattice mismatch (19.3%) to silicon, but due to the technological advantages it offers and compatibility with HgCdTe, it is the best buffer layer choice. The lattice mismatch between HgCdTe/CdTe and the silicon substrate leads to the formation of dislocations at densities in the mid 106 to low 107 cm-2 range in the epilayers. Such a high dislocation density greatly effects detector device performance quantities such as operability and sensitivity. Hence, the dislocation density should be brought down by at least an order of magnitude by adopting novel in situ and ex situ material processing techniques. In this work, in situ and ex situ thermal cycle annealing (TCA) methods have been used to decrease dislocation density in CdTe and HgCdTe. During the molecular beam epitaxial (MBE) growth of the CdTe buffer layer, the growth was interrupted and the layer was subjected to an annealing cycle within the growth chamber under tellurium overpressure. During the annealing cycle the temperature is raised to beyond the growth temperature (290 → 550 °C) and then allowed to cool before resuming growth again. This process was repeated several times during the growth. After growth, a portion of the material was subjected to a dislocation decoration etch in order to count the etch pit density (EPD) which has a direct correspondence with the dislocation density in the crystal. The crystalline quality was also characterized by x-ray diffraction rocking curves and photoluminescence. The in situ TCA resulted in almost a two order of magnitude reduction in the dislocation density, and factor of two reduction in the full width at half maximum of the x-ray rocking curves. Photoluminescence also suggested a decrease in the number of dislocations present in the material. This decrease is attributed to the movement of the dislocations during the annealing cycles and their subsequent interaction and annihilation. To decrease the dislocation density in HgCdTe layers grown on CdTe/Si composite substrates, ex situ TCA has been performed in a sealed quartz ampoule under a mercury overpressure in a conventional clam-shell furnace. The reduction in the dislocation density has been studied as a function of growth/annealing parameters such as the initial (as grown) dislocation density, buffer layer quality, Hg overpressure, annealing temperature, annealing duration, and the number of annealing cycles. It was found that the primary parameters that affect dislocation density reduction are the annealing temperature and the number of annealing cycles. Some secondary affects were observed by varying the duration spent at the maximum annealing temperature. Parameters such as the initial dislocation density and buffer layer quality did not play a significant role in dislocation reduction. Though no correlation between Hg overpressure and dislocation density was found, it did play a vital role in maintaining the quality of the surface. By using the ex situ TCA, a dislocation density of 1 x 106 cm-2 could be reliably and consistently achieved in HgCdTe layers that had a starting density ranging from 0.5 -- 3 x 107 cm-2. Examination of the annealing parameters revealed an exponential decay in the dislocation density as a function of increasing number of annealing cycles. In addition, a similar exponential decay was observed between the dislocation density and the annealing temperature. The decrease in the dislocation density is once again attributed to moving dislocations that interact and annihilate. This behavior was modeled using a second order reaction equation. It was found that the results of the model closely agreed with the experimental values for a wide range of annealing temperatures and number of annealing cycles.

Synchrotron X-ray topography of electronic materials.

PubMed

Tuomi, T

2002-05-01

Large-area transmission, transmission section, large-area back-reflection, back-reflection section and grazing-incidence topography are the geometries used when recording high-resolution X-ray diffraction images with synchrotron radiation from a bending magnet, a wiggler or an undulator of an electron or a positron storage ring. Defect contrast can be kinematical, dynamical or orientational even in the topographs recorded on the same film at the same time. In this review article limited to static topography experiments, examples of defect studies on electronic materials cover the range from voids and precipitates in almost perfect float-zone and Czochralski silicon, dislocations in gallium arsenide grown by the liquid-encapsulated Czochralski technique, the vapour-pressure controlled Czochralski technique and the vertical-gradient freeze technique, stacking faults and micropipes in silicon carbide to misfit dislocations in epitaxic heterostructures. It is shown how synchrotron X-ray topographs of epitaxic laterally overgrown gallium arsenide layer structures are successfully explained by orientational contrast.

Strain relaxation in epitaxial GaAs/Si (0 0 1) nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kozak, Roksolana; Prieto, Ivan; Arroyo Rojas Dasilva, Yadira; Erni, Rolf; Skibitzki, Oliver; Capellini, Giovanni; Schroeder, Thomas; von Känel, Hans; Rossell, Marta D.

2017-11-01

Crystal defects, present in 100 nm GaAs nanocrystals grown by metal organic vapour phase epitaxy on top of (0 0 1)-oriented Si nanotips (with a tip opening 50-90 nm), have been studied by means of high-resolution aberration-corrected high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy. The role of 60° perfect, 30° and 90° Shockley partial misfit dislocations (MDs) in the plastic strain relaxation of GaAs on Si is discussed. Formation conditions of stair-rod dislocations and coherent twin boundaries in the GaAs nanocrystals are explained. Also, although stacking faults are commonly observed, we show here that synthesis of GaAs nanocrystals with a minimum number of these defects is possible. On the other hand, from the number of MDs, we have to conclude that the GaAs nanoparticles are fully relaxed plastically, such that for the present tip sizes no substrate compliance can be observed.

Prediction of dislocation generation during Bridgman growth of GaAs crystals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tsai, C. T.; Yao, M. W.; Chait, Arnon

1992-01-01

Dislocation densities are generated in GaAs single crystals due to the excessive thermal stresses induced by temperature variations during growth. A viscoplastic material model for GaAs, which takes into account the movement and multiplication of dislocations in the plastic deformation, is developed according to Haasen's theory. The dislocation density is expressed as an internal state variable in this dynamic viscoplastic model. The deformation process is a nonlinear function of stress, strain rate, dislocation density and temperature. The dislocation density in the GaAs crystal during vertical Bridgman growth is calculated using a nonlinear finite element model. The dislocation multiplication in GaAs crystals for several temperature fields obtained from thermal modeling of both the GTE GaAs experimental data and artificially designed data are investigated.

Prediction of dislocation generation during Bridgman growth of GaAs crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsai, C. T.; Yao, M. W.; Chait, Arnon

1992-11-01

Dislocation densities are generated in GaAs single crystals due to the excessive thermal stresses induced by temperature variations during growth. A viscoplastic material model for GaAs, which takes into account the movement and multiplication of dislocations in the plastic deformation, is developed according to Haasen's theory. The dislocation density is expressed as an internal state variable in this dynamic viscoplastic model. The deformation process is a nonlinear function of stress, strain rate, dislocation density and temperature. The dislocation density in the GaAs crystal during vertical Bridgman growth is calculated using a nonlinear finite element model. The dislocation multiplication in GaAs crystals for several temperature fields obtained from thermal modeling of both the GTE GaAs experimental data and artificially designed data are investigated.

High current density GaAs/Si rectifying heterojunction by defect free Epitaxial Lateral overgrowth on Tunnel Oxide from nano-seed.

PubMed

Renard, Charles; Molière, Timothée; Cherkashin, Nikolay; Alvarez, José; Vincent, Laetitia; Jaffré, Alexandre; Hallais, Géraldine; Connolly, James Patrick; Mencaraglia, Denis; Bouchier, Daniel

2016-05-04

Interest in the heteroepitaxy of GaAs on Si has never failed in the last years due to the potential for monolithic integration of GaAs-based devices with Si integrated circuits. But in spite of this effort, devices fabricated from them still use homo-epitaxy only. Here we present an epitaxial technique based on the epitaxial lateral overgrowth of micrometer scale GaAs crystals on a thin SiO2 layer from nanoscale Si seeds. This method permits the integration of high quality and defect-free crystalline GaAs on Si substrate and provides active GaAs/Si heterojunctions with efficient carrier transport through the thin SiO2 layer. The nucleation from small width openings avoids the emission of misfit dislocations and the formation of antiphase domains. With this method, we have experimentally demonstrated for the first time a monolithically integrated GaAs/Si diode with high current densities of 10 kA.cm(-2) for a forward bias of 3.7 V. This epitaxial technique paves the way to hybrid III-V/Si devices that are free from lattice-matching restrictions, and where silicon not only behaves as a substrate but also as an active medium.

Effects of doping impurity and growth orientation on dislocation generation in GaAs crystals grown from the melt: A qualitative finite-element study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, X. A.; Tsai, C. T.

2000-09-01

Dislocations in gallium arsenide (GaAs) crystals are generated by excessive thermal stresses induced during the crystal growth process. The presence of dislocations has adverse effects on the performance and reliability of the GaAs-based devices. It is well known that dislocation density can be significantly reduced by doping impurity atoms into a GaAs crystal during its growth process. A viscoplastic constitutive equation that couples the microscopic dislocation density with the macroscopic plastic deformation is employed in a crystallographic finite element model for calculating the dislocation density generated in the GaAs crystal during its growth process. The dislocation density is considered as an internal state variable and the drag stress caused by doping impurity is included in this constitutive equation. A GaAs crystal grown by the vertical Bridgman process is adopted as an example to study the influences of doping impurity and growth orientation on dislocation generation. The calculated results show that doping impurity can significantly reduce the dislocation density generated in the crystal. The level of reduction is also influenced by the growth orientation during the crystal growth process.

Microstructure design for fast oxygen conduction

DOE PAGES

Aidhy, Dilpuneet S.; Weber, William J.

2015-11-11

Research from the last decade has shown that in designing fast oxygen conducting materials for electrochemical applications has largely shifted to microstructural features, in contrast to material-bulk. In particular, understanding oxygen energetics in heterointerface materials is currently at the forefront, where interfacial tensile strain is being considered as the key parameter in lowering oxygen migration barriers. Nanocrystalline materials with high densities of grain boundaries have also gathered interest that could possibly allow leverage over excess volume at grain boundaries, providing fast oxygen diffusion channels similar to those previously observed in metals. In addition, near-interface phase transformations and misfit dislocations aremore » other microstructural phenomenon/features that are being explored to provide faster diffusion. In this review, the current understanding on oxygen energetics, i.e., thermodynamics and kinetics, originating from these microstructural features is discussed. Moreover, our experimental observations, theoretical predictions and novel atomistic mechanisms relevant to oxygen transport are highlighted. In addition, the interaction of dopants with oxygen vacancies in the presence of these new microstructural features, and their future role in the design of future fast-ion conductors, is outlined.« less

On the nature of L1{sub 0} ordering in equiatomic AuNi and AuCu thin films grown on Au(001)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dynna, M.; Marty, A.; Gilles, B.

1997-01-01

The L1{sub 0} ordering of thin epitaxial films having a (001) surface normal subject to elastic constraints imposed by a similarly oriented substrate has been investigated both experimentally and theoretically. Thin AuNi films grown by MBE at room temperature on Au(001) by means of the alternating deposition of Au and Ni are found to possess a L1{sub 0} structure free of periodic antiphase boundaries when growth is controlled in such a way as to ensure that the quantity of Au or Ni deposited is almost exactly equal to one monolayer. If such control is not exercised during growth, a structuremore » having periodic antiphase boundaries is formed. This behavior stands in contrast to that of AuCu during room temperature MBE growth on Au(001), where a strongly ordered L2{sub 0} structure free of antiphase boundaries is formed even on the codeposition of Au and Cu. The effect of elastic constraints on the state of order in an alloy film which undergoes an L2{sub 0} order-disorder transition is examined as a function of temperature, lattice mismatch, and film thickness within the context of a model which allows for the introduction of dislocations in order to relieve misfit strain. Calculations are performed in detail for the case of AuCu, where particular attention is paid to the coupling between film thickness, the number of misfit dislocations present at equilibrium, and the state of order.« less

Idealized vs. Realistic Microstructures: An Atomistic Simulation Case Study on γ/γ′ Microstructures

PubMed Central

Prakash, Aruna; Bitzek, Erik

2017-01-01

Single-crystal Ni-base superalloys, consisting of a two-phase γ/γ′ microstructure, retain high strengths at elevated temperatures and are key materials for high temperature applications, like, e.g., turbine blades of aircraft engines. The lattice misfit between the γ and γ′ phases results in internal stresses, which significantly influence the deformation and creep behavior of the material. Large-scale atomistic simulations that are often used to enhance our understanding of the deformation mechanisms in such materials must accurately account for such misfit stresses. In this work, we compare the internal stresses in both idealized and experimentally-informed, i.e., more realistic, γ/γ′ microstructures. The idealized samples are generated by assuming, as is frequently done, a periodic arrangement of cube-shaped γ′ particles with planar γ/γ′ interfaces. The experimentally-informed samples are generated from two different sources to produce three different samples—the scanning electron microscopy micrograph-informed quasi-2D atomistic sample and atom probe tomography-informed stoichiometric and non-stoichiometric atomistic samples. Additionally, we compare the stress state of an idealized embedded cube microstructure with finite element simulations incorporating 3D periodic boundary conditions. Subsequently, we study the influence of the resulting stress state on the evolution of dislocation loops in the different samples. The results show that the stresses in the atomistic and finite element simulations are almost identical. Furthermore, quasi-2D boundary conditions lead to a significantly different stress state and, consequently, different evolution of the dislocation loop, when compared to samples with fully 3D boundary conditions. PMID:28772453

Idealized vs. Realistic Microstructures: An Atomistic Simulation Case Study on γ/γ' Microstructures.

PubMed

Prakash, Aruna; Bitzek, Erik

2017-01-23

Single-crystal Ni-base superalloys, consisting of a two-phase γ / γ ' microstructure, retain high strengths at elevated temperatures and are key materials for high temperature applications, like, e.g., turbine blades of aircraft engines. The lattice misfit between the γ and γ ' phases results in internal stresses, which significantly influence the deformation and creep behavior of the material. Large-scale atomistic simulations that are often used to enhance our understanding of the deformation mechanisms in such materials must accurately account for such misfit stresses. In this work, we compare the internal stresses in both idealized and experimentally-informed, i.e., more realistic, γ / γ ' microstructures. The idealized samples are generated by assuming, as is frequently done, a periodic arrangement of cube-shaped γ ' particles with planar γ / γ ' interfaces. The experimentally-informed samples are generated from two different sources to produce three different samples-the scanning electron microscopy micrograph-informed quasi-2D atomistic sample and atom probe tomography-informed stoichiometric and non-stoichiometric atomistic samples. Additionally, we compare the stress state of an idealized embedded cube microstructure with finite element simulations incorporating 3D periodic boundary conditions. Subsequently, we study the influence of the resulting stress state on the evolution of dislocation loops in the different samples. The results show that the stresses in the atomistic and finite element simulations are almost identical. Furthermore, quasi-2D boundary conditions lead to a significantly different stress state and, consequently, different evolution of the dislocation loop, when compared to samples with fully 3D boundary conditions.

Dislocation density evolution of AA 7020-T6 investigated by in-situ synchrotron diffraction under tensile load

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhong, Z.Y., E-mail: zhengye.zhong@hzg.de; Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Max-Planck-Straße 1, D-21502 Geesthacht; Brokmeier, H.-G.

2015-10-15

The dislocation density evolution along the loading axis of a textured AA 7020-T6 aluminum alloy during uniaxial tension was investigated by in-situ synchrotron diffraction. The highly parallel synchrotron beam at the High Energy Materials Science beamline P07 in PETRA III, DESY, offers excellent conditions to separate different influences for line broadening from which micro-strains are obtained using the modified Williamson–Hall method which is also for defect density investigations. During tensile loading the dislocation density evolution was documented from the as-received material (initial micro-strain state) to the relaxation of the strains during elastic deformation. After yield, the increasing rate of dislocationmore » density growth was relatively fast till half-way between yield and UTS. After that, the rate started to decrease and the dislocation density fluctuated as the elongation increased due to the generation and annihilation of dislocations. When dislocation generation is dominant, the correlation between the flow stress and dislocation density satisfies the Taylor equation. Besides, a method to correct the thickness effect on peak broadening is developed in the present study. - Highlights: • In-situ synchrotron diffraction was applied to characterize peak broadening. • Dislocation evolution along the loading axis during uniaxial tension was investigated. • A method to correct the sample thickness effect on peak broadening was developed. • Dislocation density and flow stress satisfy the Taylor equation at a certain range. • The texture before load and after sample fracture was analyzed.« less

Modeling of dislocation dynamics in germanium Czochralski growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Artemyev, V. V.; Smirnov, A. D.; Kalaev, V. V.; Mamedov, V. M.; Sidko, A. P.; Podkopaev, O. I.; Kravtsova, E. D.; Shimansky, A. F.

2017-06-01

Obtaining very high-purity germanium crystals with low dislocation density is a practically difficult problem, which requires knowledge and experience in growth processes. Dislocation density is one of the most important parameters defining the quality of germanium crystal. In this paper, we have performed experimental study of dislocation density during 4-in. germanium crystal growth using the Czochralski method and comprehensive unsteady modeling of the same crystal growth processes, taking into account global heat transfer, melt flow and melt/crystal interface shape evolution. Thermal stresses in the crystal and their relaxation with generation of dislocations within the Alexander-Haasen model have been calculated simultaneously with crystallization dynamics. Comparison to experimental data showed reasonable agreement for the temperature, interface shape and dislocation density in the crystal between calculation and experiment.

Impact of screw and edge dislocations on the thermal conductivity of individual nanowires and bulk GaN: a molecular dynamics study.

PubMed

Termentzidis, Konstantinos; Isaiev, Mykola; Salnikova, Anastasiia; Belabbas, Imad; Lacroix, David; Kioseoglou, Joseph

2018-02-14

We report the thermal transport properties of wurtzite GaN in the presence of dislocations using molecular dynamics simulations. A variety of isolated dislocations in a nanowire configuration are analyzed and found to considerably reduce the thermal conductivity while impacting its temperature dependence in a different manner. Isolated screw dislocations reduce the thermal conductivity by a factor of two, while the influence of edge dislocations is less pronounced. The relative reduction of thermal conductivity is correlated with the strain energy of each of the five studied types of dislocations and the nature of the bonds around the dislocation core. The temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity follows a physical law described by a T -1 variation in combination with an exponent factor that depends on the material's nature, type and the structural characteristics of the dislocation core. Furthermore, the impact of the dislocation density on the thermal conductivity of bulk GaN is examined. The variation and absolute values of the total thermal conductivity as a function of the dislocation density are similar for defected systems with both screw and edge dislocations. Nevertheless, we reveal that the thermal conductivity tensors along the parallel and perpendicular directions to the dislocation lines are different. The discrepancy of the anisotropy of the thermal conductivity grows with increasing density of dislocations and it is more pronounced for the systems with edge dislocations. Besides the fundamental insights of the presented results, these could also be used for the identification of the type of dislocations when one experimentally obtains the evolution of thermal conductivity with temperature since each type of dislocation has a different signature, or one could extract the density of dislocations with a simple measurement of thermal anisotropy.

CFD Growth of 3C-SiC on 4H/6H Mesas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neudeck, Philip G.; Trunek, Andrew J.; Spry, David J.; Powell, J. Anthony; Du, Hui; Skowronski, Marek; Huang, XianRong; Dudley, Michael

2006-01-01

This article describes growth and characterization of the highest quality reproducible 3C-SiC heteroepitaxial films ever reported. By properly nucleating 3C-SiC growth on top of perfectly on-axis (0001) 4H-SiC mesa surfaces completely free of atomic scale steps and extended defects, growth of 3C-SiC mesa heterofilms completely free of extended crystal defects can be achieved. In contrast, nucleation and growth of 3C-SiC mesa heterofilms on top of 4H-SiC mesas with atomic-scale steps always results in numerous observable dislocations threading through the 3C-SiC epilayer. High-resolution X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy measurements indicate non-trivial in-plane lattice mismatch between the 3C and 4H layers. This mismatch is somewhat relieved in the step-free mesa case via misfit dislocations confined to the 3C/4H interfacial region without dislocations threading into the overlying 3C-SiC layer. These results indicate that the presence or absence of steps at the 3C/4H heteroepitaxial interface critically impacts the quality, defect structure, and relaxation mechanisms of single-crystal heteroepitaxial 3C-SiC films.

Size effects under homogeneous deformation of single crystals: A discrete dislocation analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guruprasad, P. J.; Benzerga, A. A.

Mechanism-based discrete dislocation plasticity is used to investigate the effect of size on micron scale crystal plasticity under conditions of macroscopically homogeneous deformation. Long-range interactions among dislocations are naturally incorporated through elasticity. Constitutive rules are used which account for key short-range dislocation interactions. These include junction formation and dynamic source and obstacle creation. Two-dimensional calculations are carried out which can handle high dislocation densities and large strains up to 0.1. The focus is laid on the effect of dimensional constraints on plastic flow and hardening processes. Specimen dimensions ranging from hundreds of nanometers to tens of microns are considered. Our findings show a strong size-dependence of flow strength and work-hardening rate at the micron scale. Taylor-like hardening is shown to be insufficient as a rationale for the flow stress scaling with specimen dimensions. The predicted size effect is associated with the emergence, at sufficient resolution, of a signed dislocation density. Heuristic correlations between macroscopic flow stress and macroscopic measures of dislocation density are sought. Most accurate among those is a correlation based on two state variables: the total dislocation density and an effective, scale-dependent measure of signed density.

Dislocation-induced stress in polycrystalline materials: mesoscopic simulations in the dislocation density formalism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berkov, D. V.; Gorn, N. L.

2018-06-01

In this paper we present a simple and effective numerical method which allows a fast Fourier transformation-based evaluation of stress generated by dislocations with arbitrary directions and Burgers vectors if the (site-dependent) dislocation density is known. Our method allows the evaluation of the dislocation stress using a rectangular grid with shape-anisotropic discretization cells without employing higher multipole moments of the dislocation interaction coefficients. Using the proposed method, we first simulate the stress created by relatively simple non-homogeneous distributions of vertical edge and so-called ‘mixed’ dislocations in a disk-shaped sample, which is necessary to understand the dislocation behavior in more complicated systems. The main part of our research is devoted to the stress distribution in polycrystalline layers with the dislocation density rapidly varying with the distance to the layer bottom. Considering GaN as a typical example of such systems, we investigate dislocation-induced stress for edge and mixed dislocations, having random orientations of Burgers vectors among crystal grains. We show that the rapid decay of the dislocation density leads to many highly non-trivial features of the stress distributions in such layers and study in detail the dependence of these features on the average grain size. Finally we develop an analytical approach which allows us to predict the evolution of the stress variance with the grain size and compare analytical predictions with numerical results.

Influence of dislocation density on internal quantum efficiency of GaN-based semiconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Jiadong; Hao, Zhibiao; Li, Linsen; Wang, Lai; Luo, Yi; Wang, Jian; Sun, Changzheng; Han, Yanjun; Xiong, Bing; Li, Hongtao

2017-03-01

By considering the effects of stress fields coming from lattice distortion as well as charge fields coming from line charges at edge dislocation cores on radiative recombination of exciton, a model of carriers' radiative and non-radiative recombination has been established in GaN-based semiconductors with certain dislocation density. Using vector average of the stress fields and the charge fields, the relationship between dislocation density and the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) is deduced. Combined with related experimental results, this relationship is fitted well to the trend of IQEs of bulk GaN changing with screw and edge dislocation density, meanwhile its simplified form is fitted well to the IQEs of AlGaN multiple quantum well LEDs with varied threading dislocation densities but the same light emission wavelength. It is believed that this model, suitable for different epitaxy platforms such as MOCVD and MBE, can be used to predict to what extent the luminous efficiency of GaN-based semiconductors can still maintain when the dislocation density increases, so as to provide a reasonable rule of thumb for optimizing the epitaxial growth of GaN-based devices.

Evolution of Dislocation Density During Tensile Deformation of BH220 Steel at Different Pre-strain Conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seth, Prem Prakash; Das, A.; Bar, H. N.; Sivaprasad, S.; Basu, A.; Dutta, K.

2015-07-01

Tensile behavior of BH220 steel with different pre-strain conditions (2 and 8%) followed by bake hardening was studied at different strain rates (0.001 and 0.1/s). Dislocation densities of the deformed specimens were successfully estimated from x-ray diffraction profile analysis using the modified Williamson-Hall equation. The results indicate that other than 2% pre-strain the dislocation density increases with increase in pre-strain level as well as with strain rate. The decrease in the dislocation density in 2% pre-strain condition without any drop in strength value is attributed to the characteristic dislocation feature formed during pre-straining.

Influence of GaAs surface termination on GaSb/GaAs quantum dot structure and band offsets

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zech, E. S.; Chang, A. S.; Martin, A. J.

2013-08-19

We have investigated the influence of GaAs surface termination on the nanoscale structure and band offsets of GaSb/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) grown by molecular-beam epitaxy. Transmission electron microscopy reveals both coherent and semi-coherent clusters, as well as misfit dislocations, independent of surface termination. Cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy reveal clustered GaSb QDs with type I band offsets at the GaSb/GaAs interfaces. We discuss the relative influences of strain and QD clustering on the band offsets at GaSb/GaAs interfaces.

Multiphysical simulation analysis of the dislocation structure in germanium single crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Podkopaev, O. I.; Artemyev, V. V.; Smirnov, A. D.; Mamedov, V. M.; Sid'ko, A. P.; Kalaev, V. V.; Kravtsova, E. D.; Shimanskii, A. F.

2016-09-01

To grow high-quality germanium crystals is one of the most important problems of growth industry. The dislocation density is an important parameter of the quality of single crystals. The dislocation densities in germanium crystals 100 mm in diameter, which have various shapes of the side surface and are grown by the Czochralski technique, are experimentally measured. The crystal growth is numerically simulated using heat-transfer and hydrodynamics models and the Alexander-Haasen dislocation model in terms of the CGSim software package. A comparison of the experimental and calculated dislocation densities shows that the dislocation model can be applied to study lattice defects in germanium crystals and to improve their quality.

Determination of dislocation density by electron backscatter diffraction and X-ray line profile analysis in ferrous lath martensite

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Berecz, Tibor, E-mail: berecz@eik.bme.hu; Jenei, Péter, E-mail: jenei@metal.elte.hu; Csóré, András, E-mail: csorean@gmail.com

2016-03-15

The microstructure and the dislocation density in as-quenched ferrous lath martensite were studied by different methods. The blocks, packets and variants formed due to martensitic transformation were identified and their sizes were determined by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). Concomitant transmission electron microscopy (TEM) investigation revealed that the laths contain subgrains with the size between 50 and 100 nm. A novel evaluation procedure of EBSD images was elaborated for the determination of the density and the space distribution of geometrically necessary dislocations from the misorientation distribution. The total dislocation density obtained by X-ray diffraction line profile analysis was in good agreementmore » with the value determined by EBSD, indicating that the majority of dislocations formed due to martensitic transformation during quenching are geometrically necessary dislocations.« less

Work Hardening, Dislocation Structure, and Load Partitioning in Lath Martensite Determined by In Situ Neutron Diffraction Line Profile Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harjo, Stefanus; Kawasaki, Takuro; Tomota, Yo; Gong, Wu; Aizawa, Kazuya; Tichy, Geza; Shi, Zengmin; Ungár, Tamas

2017-09-01

A lath martensite steel containing 0.22 mass pct carbon was analyzed in situ during tensile deformation by high-resolution time-of-flight neutron diffraction to clarify the large work-hardening behavior at the beginning of plastic deformation. The diffraction peaks in plastically deformed states exhibit asymmetries as the reflection of redistributions of the stress and dislocation densities/arrangements in two lath packets: soft packet, where the dislocation glides are favorable, and hard packet, where they are unfavorable. The dislocation density was as high as 1015 m-2 in the as-heat-treated state. During tensile straining, the load and dislocation density became different between the two lath packets. The dislocation character and arrangement varied in the hard packet but hardly changed in the soft packet. In the hard packet, dislocations that were mainly screw-type in the as-heat-treated state became primarily edge-type and rearranged towards a dipole character related to constructing cell walls. The hard packet played an important role in the work hardening in martensite, which could be understood by considering the increase in dislocation density along with the change in dislocation arrangement.

Relationship between dislocation and the visible luminescence band observed in ZnO epitaxial layers grown on c-plane p-GaN templates by chemical vapor deposition technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saroj, Rajendra K.; Dhar, S.

2016-08-01

ZnO epitaxial layers are grown on c-plane GaN (p-type)/sapphire substrates using a chemical vapor deposition technique. Structural and luminescence properties of these layers have been studied systematically as a function of various growth parameters. It has been found that high quality ZnO epitaxial layers can indeed be grown on GaN films at certain optimum conditions. It has also been observed that the growth temperature and growth time have distinctly different influences on the screw and edge dislocation densities. While the growth temperature affects the density of edge dislocations more strongly than that of screw dislocations, an increase of growth duration leads to a rapid drop in the density of screw dislocation, whereas the density of edge dislocation hardly changes. Densities of both edge and screw dislocations are found to be minimum at a growth temperature of 500 °C. Interestingly, the defect related visible luminescence intensity also shows a minimum at the same temperature. Our study indeed suggests that the luminescence feature is related to threading edge dislocation. A continuum percolation model, where the defects responsible for visible luminescence are considered to be formed under the influence of the strain field surrounding the threading edge dislocations, is proposed. The theory explains the observed variation of the visible luminescence intensity as a function of the concentration of the dislocations.

A statistical analysis of the elastic distortion and dislocation density fields in deformed crystals

DOE PAGES

Mohamed, Mamdouh S.; Larson, Bennett C.; Tischler, Jonathan Z.; ...

2015-05-18

The statistical properties of the elastic distortion fields of dislocations in deforming crystals are investigated using the method of discrete dislocation dynamics to simulate dislocation structures and dislocation density evolution under tensile loading. Probability distribution functions (PDF) and pair correlation functions (PCF) of the simulated internal elastic strains and lattice rotations are generated for tensile strain levels up to 0.85%. The PDFs of simulated lattice rotation are compared with sub-micrometer resolution three-dimensional X-ray microscopy measurements of rotation magnitudes and deformation length scales in 1.0% and 2.3% compression strained Cu single crystals to explore the linkage between experiment and the theoreticalmore » analysis. The statistical properties of the deformation simulations are analyzed through determinations of the Nye and Kr ner dislocation density tensors. The significance of the magnitudes and the length scales of the elastic strain and the rotation parts of dislocation density tensors are demonstrated, and their relevance to understanding the fundamental aspects of deformation is discussed.« less

Unravelling the physics of size-dependent dislocation-mediated plasticity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El-Awady, Jaafar A.

2015-01-01

Size-affected dislocation-mediated plasticity is important in a wide range of materials and technologies. Here we develop a generalized size-dependent dislocation-based model that predicts strength as a function of crystal/grain size and the dislocation density. Three-dimensional (3D) discrete dislocation dynamics (DDD) simulations reveal the existence of a well-defined relationship between strength and dislocation microstructure at all length scales for both single crystals and polycrystalline materials. The results predict a transition from dislocation-source strengthening to forest-dominated strengthening at a size-dependent critical dislocation density. It is also shown that the Hall-Petch relationship can be physically interpreted by coupling with an appropriate kinetic equation of the evolution of the dislocation density in polycrystals. The model is shown to be in remarkable agreement with experiments. This work presents a micro-mechanistic framework to predict and interpret strength size-scale effects, and provides an avenue towards performing multiscale simulations without ad hoc assumptions.

Atomic and electronic structures of BaHfO3-doped TFA-MOD-derived YBa2Cu3O7-δ thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Molina-Luna, Leopoldo; Duerrschnabel, Michael; Turner, Stuart; Erbe, Manuela; Martinez, Gerardo T.; Van Aert, Sandra; Holzapfel, Bernhard; Van Tendeloo, Gustaaf

2015-11-01

Tailoring the properties of oxide-based nanocomposites is of great importance for a wide range of materials relevant for energy technology. YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) superconducting thin films containing nanosized BaHfO3 (BHO) particles yield a significant improvement of the magnetic flux pinning properties and a reduced anisotropy of the critical current density. These films were prepared by chemical solution deposition (CSD) on (100) SrTiO3 (STO) substrates yielding critical current densities up to 3.6 MA cm-2 at 77 K and self-field. Transport in-field J c measurements demonstrated a high pinning force maximum of around 6 GN/m3 for a sample annealed at T = 760 °C that has a doping of 12 mol% of BHO. This sample was investigated by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) in combination with electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) yielding strain and spectral maps. Spherical BHO nanoparticles of 15 nm in size were found in the matrix, whereas the particles at the interface were flat. A 2 nm diffusion layer containing Ti was found at the YBCO (BHO)/STO interface. Local lattice deformation mapping at the atomic scale revealed crystal defects induced by the presence of both sorts of BHO nanoparticles, which can act as pinning centers for magnetic flux lines. Two types of local lattice defects were identified and imaged: (i) misfit edge dislocations and (ii) Ba-Cu-Cu-Ba stacking faults (Y-248 intergrowths). The local electronic structure and charge transfer were probed by high energy resolution monochromated electron energy-loss spectroscopy. This technique made it possible to distinguish superconducting from non-superconducting areas in nanocomposite samples with atomic resolution in real space, allowing the identification of local pinning sites on the order of the coherence length of YBCO (˜1.5 nm) and the determination of 0.25 nm dislocation cores.

Microstructure and conductance-slope of InAs/GaSb tunnel diodes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Iutzi, Ryan M., E-mail: iutzi@mit.edu; Fitzgerald, Eugene A.

2014-06-21

InAs/GaSb and similar materials systems have generated great interest as a heterojunction for tunnel field effect transistors (TFETs) due to favorable band alignment. However, little is currently understood about how such TFETs are affected by materials defects and nonidealities. We present measurements of the conductance slope for various InAs/GaSb heterojunctions via two-terminal electrical measurements, which removes three-terminal parasitics and enables direct study on the effect of microstructure on tunnelling. Using this, we can predict how subthreshold swings in TFETs can depend on microstructure. We also demonstrate growth and electrical characterization for structures grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD)—a generallymore » more scalable process compared with molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). We determine that misfit dislocations and point defects near the interface can lead to energy states in the band-gap and local band bending that result in trap-assisted leakage routes and nonuniform band alignment across the junction area that lower the steepness of the conductance slope. Despite the small lattice mismatch, misfit dislocations still form in InAs on GaSb due to relaxation as a result of large strain from intermixed compositions. This can be circumvented by growing GaSb on InAs, straining the GaSb underlayer, or lowering the InAs growth temperature in the region of the interface. The conductance slope can also be improved by annealing the samples at higher temperatures, which we believe acts to annihilate point defects and average out major fluctuations in band alignment across the interface. Using a combination of these techniques, we can greatly improve the steepness of the conductance slope which could result in steeper subthreshold swings in TFETs in the future.« less

Defect Characterization in SiGe/SOI Epitaxial Semiconductors by Positron Annihilation

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

The potential of positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS) for defect characterization at the atomic scale in semiconductors has been demonstrated in thin multilayer structures of SiGe (50 nm) grown on UTB (ultra-thin body) SOI (silicon-on-insulator). A slow positron beam was used to probe the defect profile. The SiO2/Si interface in the UTB-SOI was well characterized, and a good estimation of its depth has been obtained. The chemical analysis indicates that the interface does not contain defects, but only strongly localized charged centers. In order to promote the relaxation, the samples have been submitted to a post-growth annealing treatment in vacuum. After this treatment, it was possible to observe the modifications of the defect structure of the relaxed film. Chemical analysis of the SiGe layers suggests a prevalent trapping site surrounded by germanium atoms, presumably Si vacancies associated with misfit dislocations and threading dislocations in the SiGe films. PMID:21170391

Size dependence of yield strength simulated by a dislocation-density function dynamics approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leung, P. S. S.; Leung, H. S.; Cheng, B.; Ngan, A. H. W.

2015-04-01

The size dependence of the strength of nano- and micron-sized crystals is studied using a new simulation approach in which the dynamics of the density functions of dislocations are modeled. Since any quantity of dislocations can be represented by a density, this approach can handle large systems containing large quantities of dislocations, which may handicap discrete dislocation dynamics schemes due to the excessive computation time involved. For this reason, pillar sizes spanning a large range, from the sub-micron to micron regimes, can be simulated. The simulation results reveal the power-law relationship between strength and specimen size up to a certain size, beyond which the strength varies much more slowly with size. For specimens smaller than ∼4000b, their strength is found to be controlled by the dislocation depletion condition, in which the total dislocation density remains almost constant throughout the loading process. In specimens larger than ∼4000b, the initial dislocation distribution is of critical importance since the presence of dislocation entanglements is found to obstruct deformation in the neighboring regions within a distance of ∼2000b. This length scale suggests that the effects of dense dislocation clusters are greater in intermediate-sized specimens (e.g. 4000b and 8000b) than in larger specimens (e.g. 16 000b), according to the weakest-link concept.

Comparison of dislocation density tensor fields derived from discrete dislocation dynamics and crystal plasticity simulations of torsion

DOE PAGES

Jones, Reese E.; Zimmerman, Jonathan A.; Po, Giacomo; ...

2016-02-01

Accurate simulation of the plastic deformation of ductile metals is important to the design of structures and components to performance and failure criteria. Many techniques exist that address the length scales relevant to deformation processes, including dislocation dynamics (DD), which models the interaction and evolution of discrete dislocation line segments, and crystal plasticity (CP), which incorporates the crystalline nature and restricted motion of dislocations into a higher scale continuous field framework. While these two methods are conceptually related, there have been only nominal efforts focused at the global material response that use DD-generated information to enhance the fidelity of CPmore » models. To ascertain to what degree the predictions of CP are consistent with those of DD, we compare their global and microstructural response in a number of deformation modes. After using nominally homogeneous compression and shear deformation dislocation dynamics simulations to calibrate crystal plasticity ow rule parameters, we compare not only the system-level stress-strain response of prismatic wires in torsion but also the resulting geometrically necessary dislocation density fields. To establish a connection between explicit description of dislocations and the continuum assumed with crystal plasticity simulations we ascertain the minimum length-scale at which meaningful dislocation density fields appear. Furthermore, our results show that, for the case of torsion, that the two material models can produce comparable spatial dislocation density distributions.« less

Microstructurally Based Prediction of High Strain Failure Modes in Crystalline Solids

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-07-05

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: New three-dimensional dislocation-density based crystalline plasticity formulations was used with grain-boundary (GB...Army Research Office P.O. Box 12211 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2211 High strain-rate; failure, crsytalline plasticity , dislocation-density...Solids Report Title New three-dimensional dislocation-density based crystalline plasticity formulations was used with grain-boundary (GB) kinematic

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gibert, Ivan, E-mail: gibert1993@mail.ru; Kiseleva, Svetlana, E-mail: kisielieva1946@mail.ru; Popova, Natalya, E-mail: natalya-popova-44@mail.ru

The investigation of excess dislocation density accumulation in the deformed polycrystalline austenitic steel was carried out using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The distributions of the excess dislocation density in the grains of the deformed austenitic steel with different bending types were obtained and plotted. It was established that in the austenitic polycrystalline steel at the deformation degrees ε = 14 and 25 % the distributions of the excess dislocation density are multimodal. In both cases the grain with compound bending is more stressed. The values of the average excess dislocation density in the grains with the compound and simple bendingmore » are less at ε = 25 % than that at ε = 14 %. This is explained by a significant relaxation of the internal stresses in steel with the increase of the deformation degree from 14 % to 25 %. The increase of the number of twinning systems and the material volume fraction covered by twinning leads to the internal stress relaxation and consequently to the increase of the excess dislocation density. The presence of microtwins in the deformed material has an influence on the distribution of the excess dislocation density. In the deformed polycrystalline austenitic steel the number of grains with compound bending is increased with the increase of the plastic deformation degree.« less

Statistical analysis of dislocations and dislocation boundaries from EBSD data.

PubMed

Moussa, C; Bernacki, M; Besnard, R; Bozzolo, N

2017-08-01

Electron BackScatter Diffraction (EBSD) is often used for semi-quantitative analysis of dislocations in metals. In general, disorientation is used to assess Geometrically Necessary Dislocations (GNDs) densities. In the present paper, we demonstrate that the use of disorientation can lead to inaccurate results. For example, using the disorientation leads to different GND density in recrystallized grains which cannot be physically justified. The use of disorientation gradients allows accounting for measurement noise and leads to more accurate results. Misorientation gradient is then used to analyze dislocations boundaries following the same principle applied on TEM data before. In previous papers, dislocations boundaries were defined as Geometrically Necessary Boundaries (GNBs) and Incidental Dislocation Boundaries (IDBs). It has been demonstrated in the past, through transmission electron microscopy data, that the probability density distribution of the disorientation of IDBs and GNBs can be described with a linear combination of two Rayleigh functions. Such function can also describe the probability density of disorientation gradient obtained through EBSD data as reported in this paper. This opens the route for determining IDBs and GNBs probability density distribution functions separately from EBSD data, with an increased statistical relevance as compared to TEM data. The method is applied on deformed Tantalum where grains exhibit dislocation boundaries, as observed using electron channeling contrast imaging. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nanostructural engineering of nitride nucleation layers for GaN substrate dislocation reduction.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Koleske, Daniel David; Lee, Stephen Roger; Lemp, Thomas Kerr

2009-07-01

With no lattice matched substrate available, sapphire continues as the substrate of choice for GaN growth, because of its reasonable cost and the extensive prior experience using it as a substrate for GaN. Surprisingly, the high dislocation density does not appear to limit UV and blue LED light intensity. However, dislocations may limit green LED light intensity and LED lifetime, especially as LEDs are pushed to higher current density for high end solid state lighting sources. To improve the performance for these higher current density LEDs, simple growth-enabled reductions in dislocation density would be highly prized. GaN nucleation layers (NLs)more » are not commonly thought of as an application of nano-structural engineering; yet, these layers evolve during the growth process to produce self-assembled, nanometer-scale structures. Continued growth on these nuclei ultimately leads to a fully coalesced film, and we show in this research program that their initial density is correlated to the GaN dislocation density. In this 18 month program, we developed MOCVD growth methods to reduce GaN dislocation densities on sapphire from 5 x 10{sup 8} cm{sup -2} using our standard delay recovery growth technique to 1 x 10{sup 8} cm{sup -2} using an ultra-low nucleation density technique. For this research, we firmly established a correlation between the GaN nucleation thickness, the resulting nucleation density after annealing, and dislocation density of full GaN films grown on these nucleation layers. We developed methods to reduce the nuclei density while still maintaining the ability to fully coalesce the GaN films. Ways were sought to improve the GaN nuclei orientation by improving the sapphire surface smoothness by annealing prior to the NL growth. Methods to eliminate the formation of additional nuclei once the majority of GaN nuclei were developed using a silicon nitride treatment prior to the deposition of the nucleation layer. Nucleation layer thickness was determined using optical reflectance and the nucleation density was determined using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Nomarski microscopy. Dislocation density was measured using X-ray diffraction and AFM after coating the surface with silicon nitride to delineate all dislocation types. The program milestone of producing GaN films with dislocation densities of 1 x 10{sup 8} cm{sup -2} was met by silicon nitride treatment of annealed sapphire followed by the multiple deposition of a low density of GaN nuclei followed by high temperature GaN growth. Details of this growth process and the underlying science are presented in this final report along with problems encountered in this research and recommendations for future work.« less

Modeling dislocation generation in high pressure Czochralski growth of indium phosphide single crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pendurti, Srinivas

InP is an important material for opto-electronic and high speed electronics applications. Its main use today is as the substrate material for epitaxy to produce GaInAsP lasers. The present technology for growing bulk InP is the high pressure Czochralski process. Bulk InP grown through this technique suffers from presence of a high density of line defects or dislocations, which are produced by thermal stresses the material goes through during its growth in the high temperature furnace. Modeling of these thermal stresses and the resulting plastic deformation, giving rise to dislocation densities, entails simulation of the entire thermal history of the crystal during its growth in the furnace, and studying the deformation of the crystal through suitable visco-plastic constitutive equations. Accordingly, a suitable visco-plastic model for deformation of InP was constructed, integrated with the ABAQUS finite element code, and verified through experimental data for uniaxial constant strain rate deformation tests available in literature. This was then coupled with a computation fluid dynamics model, predicting the entire temperature history in the furnace during crystal growth, to study the plastic deformation and dislocation density evolution in the crystal during growth. Growth in a variety of conditions was simulated and those conditions that generate minimum dislocation density identified. Macroscopic controllable parameters that affect the dislocation densities the most, have also been delineated. It was found that the strength of gas convection in the Czochralski furnace has the strongest effect on the dislocation densities in the fully grown crystal. Comparison of the simulated dislocation densities on wafers, with experimentally recorded etch pit profiles on as-grown crystals was reasonable. Finally some limitations in the work are discussed and avenues for future work identified.

The application of water coupled nonlinear ultrasonics to quantify the dislocation density in aluminum 1100

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mostavi, Amir; Tehrani, N.; Kamali, N.; Ozevin, D.; Chi, S. W.; Indacochea, J. E.

2017-02-01

This article investigates water coupled nonlinear ultrasonic method to measure the dislocation density in aluminum 1100 specimens. The different levels of dislocation densities are introduced to the samples by applying different levels of plastic strains by tensile loading. The ultrasonic testing includes 2.25 MHz transducer as transmitter and 5.0 MHz transducer as receiver in an immersion tank. The results of immersion experiments are compared with oil-coupled experiments. While water has significant nonlinearity within itself, the immersion ultrasound results agree with the literature of oil coupled ultrasound results of the specimens that the nonlinearity coefficient increases with the increase of dislocation density in aluminum.

Ductile failure initiation and evolution in porous polycrystalline aggregates due to interfacial effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashmawi, Waeil Muhammad Al-Anwar

New analytical and computational formulations have been developed for the investigation of micro structurally induced ductile failure mechanisms in porous polycrystalline aggregates with low and high (CSL) angle grain-boundaries (GBs). A multiple-slip rate-dependent crystalline constitutive formulation that is coupled to the evolution of mobile and immobile dislocation densities, a new internal porosity formulation for void nucleation and growth, and specialized computational schemes have been developed to obtain a detailed understanding of the multi-scale interrelated physical mechanisms that result in ductile failure in polycrystalline materials. Comprehensive transmission and pile-up mechanisms have also been introduced to investigate dislocation-density impedance and slip-rate incompatibility at the GBs. The interrelated effects of GB orientation, mobile and immobile dislocation densities, strain hardening, geometrical softening, localized plastic strains, and dislocation-density transmission and blockage on void growth, interaction, and coalescence have been studied. Criteria have been developed to identify and monitor the initiation and development of potential dislocation-density activity sites adjacent to GB regions. These interactions play an important role in the formation of GB pile-up and transmission regions. The effects of GB structure and orientation on ductile failure have been accounted for by the development of GB interfacial kinematic conditions that account for a multitude of dislocation-density interactions with GBs, such as full and partial transmission, impedance, blockage, and absorption. Pile-ups and transmission regions are identified and monitored as the deformation and failure evolve. These kinematic conditions are linked to the initiation and evolution of failure modes by the development of a new internal porosity evolution formulation that accounts for void nucleation and growth. The internal porosity relation is coupled with the proposed dislocation-density based crystalline constitutive formulation, the interfacial GB dislocation-density interaction models, and the specialized computational schemes to obtain detailed predictions of the behavior of aggregates with explicit voids that have different orientations and combinations of sizes, shapes, and spacings. Results from the present study indicate that material failure is a competition between different interrelated effects, such as stress triaxiality, accumulated plastic shear strain, temperature, dislocation density concentration, and grain and GB crystallographic orientations. For all void arrangements, as the void size is increased, specimen necking is diffuse and failure is concentrated in the ligament regions. Furthermore, there are more dislocation-density activity sites for potential transmission and pile-ups at the GBs. Failure is concentrated along the void peripheries and within intervoid ligaments. It has been shown that the evolution of the mobile dislocation density saturation curves, and their saturation rate are directly related to the aggregate response. Nucleation and growth for all void distributions have occurred in regions of maximum dislocation density and along preferred crystallographic orientations. Spatial distributions of porosity, accumulated plastic strains, and pressure have been obtained to further elucidate how these parameters evolve and affect void to void interaction in critical ligament and localized regions as a function of intervoid spacing and nominal strains. These failure predictions can be also used to identify intergranular and transgranular failure propagation. The present study underscores the importance of using dislocation-density based multiple-slip crystalline constitutive formulations and GB interfacial mechanisms that are consistent with experimental observations and results to accurately characterize the microstructural evolution of deformation and failure modes on a length scale that is commensurate with the material competition between the inherent strengthening and softening mechanisms of crystalline systems.

Edge Stabilized Ribbon (ESR); Stress, Dislocation Density and Electronic Performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sachs, E. M.

1984-01-01

The edge stabilized ribbon (ESR) silicon ribbon was grown in widths of 1, 2.2 and 4.0 inches at speeds ranging from .6 to 7 in/min, which result in ribbon thicknesses of 5 to 400 microns. One of the primary problems remaining in ESR growth is that of thermally induced mechanical stresses. This problem is manifested as ribbon with a high degree of residual stress or as ribbon with buckled ribbon. Thermal stresses result in a high dislocation density in the grown material, resulting in compromised electronic performance. Improvements in ribbon flatness were accomplished by modification of the ribbon cooling profile. Ribbon flatness and other experimental observations of ESR ribbon are discussed. Laser scanner measurements show a good correlation between diffusion length and dislocation density which indicates that the high dislocation densities are the primary cause of the poor current performance of ESR materials. Dislocation densities were reduced and improved electronic performance resulted. Laser scanner data on new and old material are presented.

Neutron diffraction measurement of residual stresses, dislocation density and texture in Zr-bonded U-10Mo “mini” fuel foils and plates

DOE PAGES

Brown, Donald William; Okuniewski, Maria A.; Sisneros, Thomas A.; ...

2016-12-01

Here, Al clad U-10Mo fuel plates are being considered for conversion of several research reactors from high-enriched to low-enriched U fuel. Neutron diffraction measurements of the textures, residual phase stresses, and dislocation densities in the individual phases of the mini-foils throughout several processing steps and following hot-isostatic pressing to the Al cladding, have been completed. Recovery and recrystallization of the bare U-10Mo fuel foil, as indicated by the dislocation density and texture, are observed depending on the state of the material prior to annealing and the duration and temperature of the annealing process. In general, the cladding procedure significantly reducesmore » the dislocation density, but the final state of the clad plate, both texture and dislocation density, depends strongly on the final processing step of the fuel foil. In contrast, the residual stress state of the final plate is dominated by the thermal expansion mismatch of the constituent materials.« less

Neutron diffraction measurement of residual stresses, dislocation density and texture in Zr-bonded U-10Mo “mini” fuel foils and plates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brown, Donald William; Okuniewski, Maria A.; Sisneros, Thomas A.

Here, Al clad U-10Mo fuel plates are being considered for conversion of several research reactors from high-enriched to low-enriched U fuel. Neutron diffraction measurements of the textures, residual phase stresses, and dislocation densities in the individual phases of the mini-foils throughout several processing steps and following hot-isostatic pressing to the Al cladding, have been completed. Recovery and recrystallization of the bare U-10Mo fuel foil, as indicated by the dislocation density and texture, are observed depending on the state of the material prior to annealing and the duration and temperature of the annealing process. In general, the cladding procedure significantly reducesmore » the dislocation density, but the final state of the clad plate, both texture and dislocation density, depends strongly on the final processing step of the fuel foil. In contrast, the residual stress state of the final plate is dominated by the thermal expansion mismatch of the constituent materials.« less

Dynamics of threading dislocations in porous heteroepitaxial GaN films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gutkin, M. Yu.; Rzhavtsev, E. A.

2017-12-01

Behavior of threading dislocations in porous heteroepitaxial gallium nitride (GaN) films has been studied using computer simulation by the two-dimensional discrete dislocation dynamics approach. A computational scheme, where pores are modeled as cross sections of cylindrical cavities, elastically interacting with unidirectional parallel edge dislocations, which imitate threading dislocations, is used. Time dependences of coordinates and velocities of each dislocation from dislocation ensembles under investigation are obtained. Visualization of current structure of dislocation ensemble is performed in the form of a location map of dislocations at any time. It has been shown that the density of appearing dislocation structures significantly depends on the ratio of area of a pore cross section to area of the simulation region. In particular, increasing the portion of pores surface on the layer surface up to 2% should lead to about a 1.5-times decrease of the final density of threading dislocations, and increase of this portion up to 15% should lead to approximately a 4.5-times decrease of it.

Dislocation and Structural Studies at Metal-Metallic Glass Interface at Low Temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, Pradeep; Yedla, Natraj

2017-12-01

In this paper, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation deformation studies on the Al (metal)-Cu50Zr50 (metallic glass) model interface is carried out based on cohesive zone model. The interface is subjected to mode-I loading at a strain rate of 109 s-1 and temperature of 100 K. The dislocations reactions and evolution of dislocation densities during the deformation have been investigated. Atomic interactions between Al, Cu and Zr atoms are modeled using EAM (embedded atom method) potential, and a timestep of 0.002 ps is used for performing the MD simulations. A circular crack and rectangular notch are introduced at the interface to investigate the effect on the deformation behavior and fracture. Further, scale size effect is also investigated. The structural changes and evolution of dislocation density are also examined. It is found that the dominant deformation mechanism is by Shockley partial dislocation nucleation. Amorphization is observed in the Al regions close to the interface and occurs at a lower strain in the presence of a crack. The total dislocation density is found to be maximum after the first yield in both the perfect and defect interface models and is highest in the case of perfect interface with a density of 6.31 × 1017 m-2. In the perfect and circular crack defect interface models, it is observed that the fraction of Shockley partial dislocation density decreases, whereas that of strain rod dislocations increases with increase in strain.

Mechanical annealing under low-amplitude cyclic loading in micropillars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cui, Yi-nan; Liu, Zhan-li; Wang, Zhang-jie; Zhuang, Zhuo

2016-04-01

Mechanical annealing has been demonstrated to be an effective method for decreasing the overall dislocation density in submicron single crystal. However, simultaneously significant shape change always unexpectedly happens under extremely high monotonic loading to drive the pre-existing dislocations out of the free surfaces. In the present work, through in situ TEM experiments it is found that cyclic loading with low stress amplitude can drive most dislocations out of the submicron sample with virtually little change of the shape. The underlying dislocation mechanism is revealed by carrying out discrete dislocation dynamic (DDD) simulations. The simulation results indicate that the dislocation density decreases within cycles, while the accumulated plastic strain is small. By comparing the evolution of dislocation junction under monotonic, cyclic and relaxation deformation, the cumulative irreversible slip is found to be the key factor of promoting junction destruction and dislocation annihilation at free surface under low-amplitude cyclic loading condition. By introducing this mechanics into dislocation density evolution equations, the critical conditions for mechanical annealing under cyclic and monotonic loadings are discussed. Low-amplitude cyclic loading which strengthens the single crystal without seriously disturbing the structure has the potential applications in the manufacture of defect-free nano-devices.

Strengthening and toughening mechanisms in low-c microalloyed martensitic steel as influenced by austenite conditioning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kennett, Shane C.

Three low-carbon ASTM A514 microalloyed steels were used to assess the effects of austenite conditioning on the microstructure and mechanical properties of martensite. A range of prior austenite grain sizes with and without thermomechanical processing were produced in a Gleeble RTM 3500 and direct-quenched. Samples in the as-quenched, low temperature tempered, and high temperature tempered conditions were studied. The microstructure was characterized with scanning electron microscopy, electron backscattered diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and x-ray diffraction. The uniaxial tensile properties and Charpy V-notch properties were measured and compared with the microstructural features (prior austenite grain size, packet size, block size, lath boundaries, and dislocation density). For the equiaxed prior austenite grain conditions, prior austenite grain size refinement decreases the packet size, decreases the block size, and increases the dislocation density of as-quenched martensite. However, after high temperature tempering the dislocation density decreases with prior austenite grain size refinement. Thermomechanical processing increases the low angle substructure, increases the dislocation density, and decreases the block size of as-quenched martensite. The dislocation density increase and block size refinement is sensitive to the austenite grain size before ausforming. The larger prior austenite grain size conditions have a larger increase in dislocation density, but the small prior austenite grain size conditions have the largest refinement in block size. Additionally, for the large prior austenite grain size conditions, the packet size increases with thermomechanical processing. The strength of martensite is often related to an effective grain size or carbon concentration. For the current work, it was concluded that the strength of martensite is primarily controlled by the dislocation density and dislocation substructure; which is related to a grain size and carbon concentration. In the microyielding regime, the strength and work hardening is related to the motion of unpinned dislocation segments. However, with tensile strain, a dislocation cell structure is developed and the flow strength (greater than 1% offset) is controlled by the dislocation density following a Taylor hardening model, thereby ruling out any grain size effects on the flow strength. Additionally, it is proposed that lath boundaries contribute to strength. It is shown that the strength differences associated with thermomechanically processed steels can be fully accounted for by dislocation density differences and the effect of lath boundaries. The low temperature ductile to brittle transition of martensite is controlled by the martensite block size, packet size, and prior austenite grain size. However, the effect of block size is likely small in comparison. The ductile to brittle transition temperature is best correlated to the inverse square root of the martensite packet size because large crack deflections are typical at packet boundaries.

Evolution of the substructure of a novel 12% Cr steel under creep conditions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yadav, Surya Deo, E-mail: surya.yadav@tugraz.at; Kalácska, Szilvia, E-mail: kalacska@metal.elte.hu; Dománková, Mária, E-mail: maria.domankova@stuba.sk

2016-05-15

In this work we study the microstruture evolution of a newly developed 12% Cr martensitic/ferritic steel in as-received condition and after creep at 650 °C under 130 MPa and 80 MPa. The microstructure is described as consisting of mobile dislocations, dipole dislocations, boundary dislocations, precipitates, lath boundaries, block boundaries, packet boundaries and prior austenitic grain boundaries. The material is characterized employing light optical microscopy (LOM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). TEM is used to characterize the dislocations (mobile + dipole) inside the subgrains and XRD measurements are used tomore » the characterize mobile dislocations. Based on the subgrain boundary misorientations obtained from EBSD measurements, the boundary dislocation density is estimated. The total dislocation density is estimated for the as-received and crept conditions adding the mobile, boundary and dipole dislocation densities. Additionally, the subgrain size is estimated from the EBSD measurements. In this publication we propose the use of three characterization techniques TEM, XRD and EBSD as necessary to characterize all type of dislocations and quantify the total dislocation densty in martensitic/ferritic steels. - Highlights: • Creep properties of a novel 12% Cr steel alloyed with Ta • Experimental characterization of different types of dislocations: mobile, dipole and boundary • Characterization and interpretation of the substructure evolution using unique combination of TEM, XRD and EBSD.« less

Recombination properties of dislocations in GaN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yakimov, Eugene B.; Polyakov, Alexander Y.; Lee, In-Hwan; Pearton, Stephen J.

2018-04-01

The recombination activity of threading dislocations in n-GaN with different dislocation densities and different doping levels was studied using electron beam induced current (EBIC). The recombination velocity on a dislocation, also known as the dislocation recombination strength, was calculated. The results suggest that dislocations in n-GaN giving contrast in EBIC are charged and surrounded by a space charge region, as evidenced by the observed dependence of dislocation recombination strength on dopant concentration. For moderate (below ˜108 cm-2) dislocation densities, these defects do not primarily determine the average diffusion length of nonequilibrium charge carriers, although locally, dislocations are efficient recombination sites. In general, it is observed that the effect of the growth method [standard metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), epitaxial lateral overgrowth versions of MOCVD, and hydride vapor phase epitaxy] on the recombination activity of dislocations is not very pronounced, although the average diffusion lengths can widely differ for various samples. The glide of basal plane dislocations at room temperature promoted by low energy electron irradiation does not significantly change the recombination properties of dislocations.

Optimization of the interfacial misfit array growth mode of GaSb epilayers on GaAs substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benyahia, D.; Kubiszyn, Ł.; Michalczewski, K.; Kębłowski, A.; Martyniuk, P.; Piotrowski, J.; Rogalski, A.

2018-02-01

The growth of undoped GaSb epilayers on GaAs (0 0 1) substrates with 2° offcut towards 〈1 1 0〉, by molecular beam epitaxy system (MBE) at low growth temperature is reported. The strain due to the lattice mismatch of 7.78% is relieved spontaneously at the interface by using interfacial misfit array (IMF) growth mode. Three approaches of this technique are investigated. The difference consists in the steps after the growth of GaAs buffer layer. These steps are the desorption of arsenic from the GaAs surface, and the cooling down to the growth temperature, under or without antimony flux. The X-ray analysis and the transmission electron microscopy point out that desorption of arsenic followed by the substrate temperature decreasing under no group V flux leads to the best structural and crystallographic properties in the GaSb layer. It is found that the 2 μm-thick GaSb is 99.8% relaxed, and that the strain is relieved by the formation of a periodic array of 90° pure-edge dislocations along the [1 1 0] direction with a periodicity of 5.6 nm.

Dislocation density of pure copper processed by accumulative roll bonding and equal-channel angular pressing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Miyajima, Yoji, E-mail: miyajima.y.ab@m.titech.ac.jp; Okubo, Satoshi; Abe, Hiroki

The dislocation density of pure copper fabricated by two severe plastic deformation (SPD) processes, i.e., accumulative roll bonding and equal-channel angular pressing, was evaluated using scanning transmission electron microscopy/transmission electron microscopy observations. The dislocation density drastically increased from ~ 10{sup 13} m{sup −} {sup 2} to about 5 × 10{sup 14} m{sup −} {sup 2}, and then saturated, for both SPD processes.

Three-dimensional imaging of threading dislocations in GaN crystals using two-photon excitation photoluminescence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanikawa, Tomoyuki; Ohnishi, Kazuki; Kanoh, Masaya; Mukai, Takashi; Matsuoka, Takashi

2018-03-01

The three-dimensional imaging of threading dislocations in GaN films was demonstrated using two-photon excitation photoluminescence. The threading dislocations were shown as dark lines. The spatial resolutions near the surface were about 0.32 and 3.2 µm for the in-plane and depth directions, respectively. The threading dislocations with a density less than 108 cm-2 were resolved, although the aberration induced by the refractive index mismatch was observed. The decrease in threading dislocation density was clearly observed by increasing the GaN film thickness. This can be considered a novel method for characterizing threading dislocations in GaN films without any destructive preparations.

Microstructural comparison of the kinematics of discrete and continuum dislocations models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sandfeld, Stefan; Po, Giacomo

2015-12-01

The Continuum Dislocation Dynamics (CDD) theory and the Discrete Dislocation Dynamics (DDD) method are compared based on concise mathematical formulations of the coarse graining of discrete data. A numerical tool for converting from a discrete to a continuum representation of a given dislocation configuration is developed, which allows to directly compare both simulation approaches based on continuum quantities (e.g. scalar density, geometrically necessary densities, mean curvature). Investigating the evolution of selected dislocation configurations within analytically given velocity fields for both DDD and CDD reveals that CDD contains a surprising number of important microstructural details.

Geometrically Necessary Dislocation Density Evolution in Interstitial Free Steel at Small Plastic Strains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kundu, Amrita; Field, David P.

2018-06-01

Measurement of geometrically necessary dislocation (GND) density using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) has become rather common place in modern metallurgical research. The utility of this measure as an indicator of the expected flow behavior of the material is not obvious. Incorporation of total dislocation density into the Taylor equation relating flow stress to dislocation density is generally accepted, but this does not automatically extend to a similar relationship for the GND density. This is discussed in the present work using classical equations for isotropic metal plasticity in a rather straight-forward theoretical framework. This investigation examines the development of GND structure in a commercially produced interstitial free steel subject to tensile deformation. Quantification of GND density was carried out using conventional EBSD at various strain levels on the surface of a standard dog-bone-shaped tensile specimen. There is linear increase of the average GND density with imposed macroscopic strain. This is in agreement with the established framework.

A dislocation density-based continuum model of the anisotropic shock response of single crystal α-cyclotrimethylene trinitramine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luscher, D. J.; Addessio, F. L.; Cawkwell, M. J.; Ramos, K. J.

2017-01-01

We have developed a model for the finite deformation thermomechanical response of α-cyclotrimethylene trinitramine (RDX). Our model accounts for nonlinear thermoelastic lattice deformation through a free energy-based equation of state developed by Cawkwell et al. (2016) in combination with temperature and pressure dependent elastic constants, as well as dislocation-mediated plastic slip on a set of slip systems motivated by experimental observation. The kinetics of crystal plasticity are modeled using the Orowan equation relating slip rate to dislocation density and the dislocation velocity developed by Austin and McDowell (2011), which naturally accounts for transition from thermally activated to dislocation drag limited regimes. Evolution of dislocation density is specified in terms of local ordinary differential equations reflecting dislocation-dislocation interactions. This paper presents details of the theory and parameterization of the model, followed by discussion of simulations of flyer plate impact experiments. Impact conditions explored within this combined simulation and experimental effort span shock pressures ranging from 1 to 3 GPa for four crystallographic orientations and multiple specimen thicknesses. Simulation results generated using this model are shown to be in strong agreement with velocimetry measurements from the corresponding plate impact experiments. Finally, simulation results are used to motivate conclusions about the nature of dislocation-mediated plasticity in RDX.

Photoelectrochemical etching measurement of defect density in GaN grown by nanoheteroepitaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferdous, M. S.; Sun, X. Y.; Wang, X.; Fairchild, M. N.; Hersee, S. D.

2006-05-01

The density of dislocations in n-type GaN was measured by photoelectrochemical etching. A 10× reduction in dislocation density was observed compared to planar GaN grown at the same time. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy studies indicate that defect reduction is due to the mutual cancellation of dislocations with equal and opposite Burger's vectors. The nanoheteroepitaxy sample exhibited significantly higher photoluminescence intensity and higher electron mobility than the planar reference sample.

Effect of strain rate and dislocation density on the twinning behavior in Tantalum

DOE PAGES

Florando, Jeffrey N.; El-Dasher, Bassem S.; Chen, Changqiang; ...

2016-04-28

The conditions which affect twinning in tantalum have been investigated across a range of strain rates and initial dislocation densities. Tantalum samples were subjected to a range of strain rates, from 10 –4/s to 10 3/s under uniaxial stress conditions, and under laser-induced shock-loading conditions. In this study, twinning was observed at 77K at strain rates from 1/s to 103/s, and during laser-induced shock experiments. The effect of the initial dislocation density, which was imparted by deforming the material to different amounts of pre-strain, was also studied, and it was shown that twinning is suppressed after a given amount ofmore » pre-strain, even as the global stress continues to increase. These results indicate that the conditions for twinning cannot be represented solely by a critical global stress value, but are also dependent on the evolution of the dislocation density. Additionally, the analysis shows that if twinning is initiated, the nucleated twins may continue to grow as a function of strain, even as the dislocation density continues to increase.« less

Finite element approximation of the fields of bulk and interfacial line defects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Chiqun; Acharya, Amit; Puri, Saurabh

2018-05-01

A generalized disclination (g.disclination) theory (Acharya and Fressengeas, 2015) has been recently introduced that goes beyond treating standard translational and rotational Volterra defects in a continuously distributed defects approach; it is capable of treating the kinematics and dynamics of terminating lines of elastic strain and rotation discontinuities. In this work, a numerical method is developed to solve for the stress and distortion fields of g.disclination systems. Problems of small and finite deformation theory are considered. The fields of a single disclination, a single dislocation treated as a disclination dipole, a tilt grain boundary, a misfitting grain boundary with disconnections, a through twin boundary, a terminating twin boundary, a through grain boundary, a star disclination/penta-twin, a disclination loop (with twist and wedge segments), and a plate, a lenticular, and a needle inclusion are approximated. It is demonstrated that while the far-field topological identity of a dislocation of appropriate strength and a disclination-dipole plus a slip dislocation comprising a disconnection are the same, the latter microstructure is energetically favorable. This underscores the complementary importance of all of topology, geometry, and energetics in understanding defect mechanics. It is established that finite element approximations of fields of interfacial and bulk line defects can be achieved in a systematic and routine manner, thus contributing to the study of intricate defect microstructures in the scientific understanding and predictive design of materials. Our work also represents one systematic way of studying the interaction of (g.)disclinations and dislocations as topological defects, a subject of considerable subtlety and conceptual importance (Aharoni et al., 2017; Mermin, 1979).

Characteristics of dislocation structure in creep deformed lamellar tial alloy within primary regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cho, H. S.; Nam, Soo W.

1999-06-01

In this investigation, dislocations of a lamellar TiAl alloy are analyzed after creeping in the primary range at 800°C/200MPa in order to interpret their mobility It was found that the dislocation density in γ-laths decreased as the creep deformation proceeds within primary creep regime Schmid factor analysis suggests that the creep deformation in the early stage of the primary creep regime is controlled by the gliding of some of the initial dislocations which have a high enough Schmid factor As the creep deformation progressed, those dislocations with high Schmid factors slip preferentially to be annihilated at the α-γ interface For further continuous deformation, dislocation generation is required, and for this, α-phase is transformed to γ-phase in order to generate new dislocations A slow dislocation generation process by phase transformation of α-phase compared with the absorbing rate to sinks is responsible for the decreasing dislocation density as the creep strain increases

Influence of basal-plane dislocation structures on expansion of single Shockley-type stacking faults in forward-current degradation of 4H-SiC p-i-n diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayashi, Shohei; Yamashita, Tamotsu; Senzaki, Junji; Miyazato, Masaki; Ryo, Mina; Miyajima, Masaaki; Kato, Tomohisa; Yonezawa, Yoshiyuki; Kojima, Kazutoshi; Okumura, Hajime

2018-04-01

The origin of expanded single Shockley-type stacking faults in forward-current degradation of 4H-SiC p-i-n diodes was investigated by the stress-current test. At a stress-current density lower than 25 A cm-2, triangular stacking faults were formed from basal-plane dislocations in the epitaxial layer. At a stress-current density higher than 350 A cm-2, both triangular and long-zone-shaped stacking faults were formed from basal-plane dislocations that converted into threading edge dislocations near the interface between the epitaxial layer and the substrate. In addition, the conversion depth of basal-plane dislocations that expanded into the stacking fault was inside the substrate deeper than the interface. These results indicate that the conversion depth of basal-plane dislocations strongly affects the threshold stress-current density at which the expansion of stacking faults occurs.

Deformation twinning induced decomposition of lamellar LPSO structure and its re-precipitation in an Mg-Zn-Y alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shao, X. H.; Zheng, S. J.; Chen, D.; Jin, Q. Q.; Peng, Z. Z.; Ma, X. L.

2016-07-01

The high hardness or yield strength of an alloy is known to benefit from the presence of small-scale precipitation, whose hardening effect is extensively applied in various engineering materials. Stability of the precipitates is of critical importance in maintaining the high performance of a material under mechanical loading. The long period stacking ordered (LPSO) structures play an important role in tuning the mechanical properties of an Mg-alloy. Here, we report deformation twinning induces decomposition of lamellar LPSO structures and their re-precipitation in an Mg-Zn-Y alloy. Using atomic resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), we directly illustrate that the misfit dislocations at the interface between the lamellar LPSO structure and the deformation twin is corresponding to the decomposition and re-precipitation of LPSO structure, owing to dislocation effects on redistribution of Zn/Y atoms. This finding demonstrates that deformation twinning could destabilize complex precipitates. An occurrence of decomposition and re-precipitation, leading to a variant spatial distribution of the precipitates under plastic loading, may significantly affect the precipitation strengthening.

Deformation twinning induced decomposition of lamellar LPSO structure and its re-precipitation in an Mg-Zn-Y alloy

PubMed Central

Shao, X. H.; Zheng, S. J.; Chen, D.; Jin, Q. Q.; Peng, Z. Z.; Ma, X. L.

2016-01-01

The high hardness or yield strength of an alloy is known to benefit from the presence of small-scale precipitation, whose hardening effect is extensively applied in various engineering materials. Stability of the precipitates is of critical importance in maintaining the high performance of a material under mechanical loading. The long period stacking ordered (LPSO) structures play an important role in tuning the mechanical properties of an Mg-alloy. Here, we report deformation twinning induces decomposition of lamellar LPSO structures and their re-precipitation in an Mg-Zn-Y alloy. Using atomic resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), we directly illustrate that the misfit dislocations at the interface between the lamellar LPSO structure and the deformation twin is corresponding to the decomposition and re-precipitation of LPSO structure, owing to dislocation effects on redistribution of Zn/Y atoms. This finding demonstrates that deformation twinning could destabilize complex precipitates. An occurrence of decomposition and re-precipitation, leading to a variant spatial distribution of the precipitates under plastic loading, may significantly affect the precipitation strengthening. PMID:27435638

Twin-mediated epitaxial growth of highly lattice-mismatched Cu/Ag core-shell nanowires.

PubMed

Weng, Wei-Lun; Hsu, Chin-Yu; Lee, Jheng-Syun; Fan, Hsin-Hsin; Liao, Chien-Neng

2018-05-31

Lattice-mismatch is an important factor for the heteroepitaxial growth of core-shell nanostructures. A large lattice-mismatch usually leads to a non-coherent interface or a polycrystalline shell layer. In this study, a conformal Ag layer is coated on Cu nanowires with dense nanoscale twin boundaries through a galvanic replacement reaction. Despite a large lattice mismatch between Ag and Cu (∼12.6%), the Ag shell replicates the twinning structure in Cu nanowires and grows epitaxially on the nanotwinned Cu nanowire. A twin-mediated growth mechanism is proposed to explain the epitaxy of high lattice-mismatch bimetallic systems in which the misfit dislocations are accommodated by coherent twin boundaries.

Surface roughening transition and critical layer thickness in strained-layer heteroepitaxy of EuTe on PbTe (111)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Springholz, G.; Frank, N.; Bauer, G.

1994-05-01

Heteroepitaxial growth of 2% lattice-mismatched EuTe on PbTe (111) by molecular beam epitaxy is investigated in the two-dimensional layer-by-layer growth regime combining in situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). At the critical layer thickness a distinct surface roughening is observed. The quantitative analysis of STM images yields an increase of the root mean square roughness by a factor of 4 at this roughening transition. Strong evidence is presented that for the used growth conditions this roughening is not caused by strain induced coherent islanding but by misfit dislocations at the onset of strain relaxation.

Modeling and optimal designs for dislocation and radiation tolerant single and multijunction solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehrotra, A.; Alemu, A.; Freundlich, A.

2011-02-01

Crystalline defects (e.g. dislocations or grain boundaries) as well as electron and proton induced defects cause reduction of minority carrier diffusion length which in turn results in degradation of efficiency of solar cells. Hetro-epitaxial or metamorphic III-V devices with low dislocation density have high BOL efficiencies but electron-proton radiation causes degradation in EOL efficiencies. By optimizing the device design (emitter-base thickness, doping) we can obtain highly dislocated metamorphic devices that are radiation resistant. Here we have modeled III-V single and multi junction solar cells using drift and diffusion equations considering experimental III-V material parameters, dislocation density, 1 Mev equivalent electron radiation doses, thicknesses and doping concentration. Thinner device thickness leads to increment in EOL efficiency of high dislocation density solar cells. By optimizing device design we can obtain nearly same EOL efficiencies from high dislocation solar cells than from defect free III-V multijunction solar cells. As example defect free GaAs solar cell after optimization gives 11.2% EOL efficiency (under typical 5x1015cm-2 1 MeV electron fluence) while a GaAs solar cell with high dislocation density (108 cm-2) after optimization gives 10.6% EOL efficiency. The approach provides an additional degree of freedom in the design of high efficiency space cells and could in turn be used to relax the need for thick defect filtering buffer in metamorphic devices.

Method to reduce dislocation density in silicon using stress

DOEpatents

Buonassisi, Anthony; Bertoni, Mariana; Argon, Ali; Castellanos, Sergio; Fecych, Alexandria; Powell, Douglas; Vogl, Michelle

2013-03-05

A crystalline material structure with reduced dislocation density and method of producing same is provided. The crystalline material structure is annealed at temperatures above the brittle-to-ductile transition temperature of the crystalline material structure. One or more stress elements are formed on the crystalline material structure so as to annihilate dislocations or to move them into less harmful locations.

The formation mechanisms of surface nanocrystallites in β-type biomedical TiNbZrFe alloy by surface mechanical attrition treatment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Lei; Cui, Wenfang; Song, Xiu; Zhou, Lian

2015-08-01

A nanostructured surface layer was successfully performed on a biomedical β-type TiNbZrFe alloy by surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT). The results reveal that the surface layer along the depth from treated surface to strain-free matrix could be divided into an outer nanocrystalline layer (0-30 μm), a high-density dislocation region (30-200 μm) and an inner region with low-density dislocations and twins (200-700 μm) when the surface was treated for 60 min. The microhardness of the surface layer is enhanced and increases with increasing treatment time. Although the {1 1 2} <1 1 1> twin coordinates the deformations with dislocations, this coordination only occurs in the low strain area and cannot affect the nanocrystalline formation. The self-nanocrystallization of TiNbZrFe alloy is mainly attributed to dislocation movements. First, the dislocations start to move and easily form dislocation bands along certain crystal directions; then, multiple slips of dislocations gradually form dislocation tangles; after that, high-density dislocation tangles increases, which divides primary grains into many small domain areas. As high strain energies accumulate on the interfaces among these areas, the lattice rotation can be driven between the adjacent small domain areas, finally resulting in a large number of nanocrystalline regions with low or large angle grain boundaries.

Materials properties and dislocation dynamics in InAsP compositionally graded buffers on InP substrates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jandl, Adam, E-mail: jandl@mit.edu; Bulsara, Mayank T.; Fitzgerald, Eugene A.

The properties of InAs{sub x}P{sub 1−x} compositionally graded buffers grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition are investigated. We report the effects of strain gradient (ε/thickness), growth temperature, and strain initiation sequence (gradual or abrupt strain introduction) on threading dislocation density, surface roughness, epi-layer relaxation, and tilt. We find that gradual introduction of strain causes increased dislocation densities (>10{sup 6}/cm{sup 2}) and tilt of the epi-layer (>0.1°). A method of abrupt strain initiation is proposed which can result in dislocation densities as low as 1.01 × 10{sup 5} cm{sup −2} for films graded from the InP lattice constant to InAs{sub 0.15}P{sub 0.85}.more » A model for a two-energy level dislocation nucleation system is proposed based on our results.« less

Computational issues in the simulation of two-dimensional discrete dislocation mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Segurado, J.; LLorca, J.; Romero, I.

2007-06-01

The effect of the integration time step and the introduction of a cut-off velocity for the dislocation motion was analysed in discrete dislocation dynamics (DD) simulations of a single crystal microbeam. Two loading modes, bending and uniaxial tension, were examined. It was found that a longer integration time step led to a progressive increment of the oscillations in the numerical solution, which would eventually diverge. This problem could be corrected in the simulations carried out in bending by introducing a cut-off velocity for the dislocation motion. This strategy (long integration times and a cut-off velocity for the dislocation motion) did not recover, however, the solution computed with very short time steps in uniaxial tension: the dislocation density was overestimated and the dislocation patterns modified. The different response to the same numerical algorithm was explained in terms of the nature of the dislocations generated in each case: geometrically necessary in bending and statistically stored in tension. The evolution of the dislocation density in the former was controlled by the plastic curvature of the beam and was independent of the details of the simulations. On the contrary, the steady-state dislocation density in tension was determined by the balance between nucleation of dislocations and those which are annihilated or which exit the beam. Changes in the DD imposed by the cut-off velocity altered this equilibrium and the solution. These results point to the need for detailed analyses of the accuracy and stability of the dislocation dynamic simulations to ensure that the results obtained are not fundamentally affected by the numerical strategies used to solve this complex problem.

A continuum theory of edge dislocations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berdichevsky, V. L.

2017-09-01

Continuum theory of dislocation aims to describe the behavior of large ensembles of dislocations. This task is far from completion, and, most likely, does not have a "universal solution", which is applicable to any dislocation ensemble. In this regards it is important to have guiding lines set by benchmark cases, where the transition from a discrete set of dislocations to a continuum description is made rigorously. Two such cases have been considered recently: equilibrium of dislocation walls and screw dislocations in beams. In this paper one more case is studied, equilibrium of a large set of 2D edge dislocations placed randomly in a 2D bounded region. The major characteristic of interest is energy of dislocation ensemble, because it determines the structure of continuum equations. The homogenized energy functional is obtained for the periodic dislocation ensembles with a random contents of the periodic cell. Parameters of the periodic structure can change slowly on distances of order of the size of periodic cells. The energy functional is obtained by the variational-asymptotic method. Equilibrium positions are local minima of energy. It is confirmed the earlier assertion that energy density of the system is the sum of elastic energy of averaged elastic strains and microstructure energy, which is elastic energy of the neutralized dislocation system, i.e. the dislocation system placed in a constant dislocation density field making the averaged dislocation density zero. The computation of energy is reduced to solution of a variational cell problem. This problem is solved analytically. The solution is used to investigate stability of simple dislocation arrays, i.e. arrays with one dislocation in the periodic cell. The relations obtained yield two outcomes: First, there is a state parameter of the system, dislocation polarization; averaged stresses affect only dislocation polarization and cannot change other characteristics of the system. Second, the structure of dislocation phase space is strikingly simple. Dislocation phase space is split in a family of subspaces corresponding to constant values of dislocation polarizations; in each equipolarization subspace there are many local minima of energy; for zero external stresses the system is stuck in a local minimum of energy; for non-zero slowly changing external stress, dislocation polarization evolves, while the system moves over local energy minima of equipolarization subspaces. Such a simple picture of dislocation dynamics is due to the presence of two time scales, slow evolution of dislocation polarization and fast motion of the system over local minima of energy. The existence of two time scales is justified for a neutral system of edge dislocations.

Microstructural investigation of plastically deformed Ti{sub 20}Zr{sub 20}Hf{sub 20}Nb{sub 20}Ta{sub 20} high entropy alloy by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dirras, G., E-mail: dirras@univ-paris13.fr; Gubicza, J.; Heczel, A.

2015-10-15

The microstructure evolution in body-centered cubic (bcc) Ti{sub 20}Zr{sub 20}Hf{sub 20}Nb{sub 20}Ta{sub 20} high entropy alloy during quasi-static compression test was studied by X-ray line profile analysis (XLPA) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The average lattice constant and other important parameters of the microstructure such as the mean crystallite size, the dislocation density and the edge/screw character of dislocations were determined by XLPA. The elastic anisotropy factor required for XLPA procedure was determined by nanoindentation. XLPA shows that the crystallite size decreased while the dislocation density increased with strain during compression, and their values reached about 39 nm and 15more » × 10{sup 14} m{sup −2}, respectively, at a plastic strain of ~ 20%. It was revealed that with increasing strain the dislocation character became more screw. This can be explained by the reduced mobility of screw dislocations compared to edge dislocations in bcc structures. These observations are in line with TEM investigations. The development of dislocation density during compression was related to the yield strength evolution. - Highlights: • Ti{sub 20}Zr{sub 20}Hf{sub 20}Nb{sub 20}Ta{sub 20} high entropy alloy was processed by arc-melting. • The mechanical was evaluated by RT compression test. • The microstructure evolution was studied by XLPA and TEM. • With increasing strain the dislocation character became more screw. • The yield strength was related to the development of the dislocation density.« less

Effect of strain rate and dislocation density on the twinning behavior in tantalum

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Florando, Jeffrey N., E-mail: florando1@llnl.gov; Swift, Damian C.; Barton, Nathan R.

2016-04-15

The conditions which affect twinning in tantalum have been investigated across a range of strain rates and initial dislocation densities. Tantalum samples were subjected to a range of strain rates, from 10{sup −4}/s to 10{sup 3}/s under uniaxial stress conditions, and under laser-induced shock-loading conditions. In this study, twinning was observed at 77 K at strain rates from 1/s to 10{sup 3}/s, and during laser-induced shock experiments. The effect of the initial dislocation density, which was imparted by deforming the material to different amounts of pre-strain, was also studied, and it was shown that twinning is suppressed after a givenmore » amount of pre-strain, even as the global stress continues to increase. These results indicate that the conditions for twinning cannot be represented solely by a critical global stress value, but are also dependent on the evolution of the dislocation density. In addition, the analysis shows that if twinning is initiated, the nucleated twins may continue to grow as a function of strain, even as the dislocation density continues to increase.« less

Computational modelling of mesoscale dislocation patterning and plastic deformation of single crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xia, Shengxu; El-Azab, Anter

2015-07-01

We present a continuum dislocation dynamics model that predicts the formation of dislocation cell structure in single crystals at low strains. The model features a set of kinetic equations of the curl type that govern the space and time evolution of the dislocation density in the crystal. These kinetic equations are coupled to stress equilibrium and deformation kinematics using the eigenstrain approach. A custom finite element method has been developed to solve the coupled system of equations of dislocation kinetics and crystal mechanics. The results show that, in general, dislocations self-organize in patterns under their mutual interactions. However, the famous dislocation cell structure has been found to form only when cross slip is implemented in the model. Cross slip is also found to lower the yield point, increase the hardening rate, and sustain an increase in the dislocation density over the hardening regime. Analysis of the cell structure evolution reveals that the average cell size decreases with the applied stress, which is consistent with the similitude principle.

High purity low dislocation GaAs single crystals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, R. T.; Holmes, D. E.; Kirkpatrick, C. G.

1982-01-01

Recent advances in GaAs bulk crystal growth using the LEC (liquid encapsulated Czochralski) technique are described. The dependence of the background impurity concentration and the dislocation density distribution on the materials synthesis and growth conditions were investigated. Background impurity concentrations as low as 4 x 10 to the 15th power were observed in undoped LEC GaAs. The dislocation density in selected regions of individual ingots was very low, below the 3000 cm .3000/sq cm threshold. The average dislocation density over a large annular ring on the wafers fell below the 10000/sq cm level for 3 inch diameter ingots. The diameter control during the program advanced to a diameter variation along a 3 inch ingot less than 2 mm.

Microstructure of calcite deformed by high-pressure torsion: An X-ray line profile study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schuster, Roman; Schafler, Erhard; Schell, Norbert; Kunz, Martin; Abart, Rainer

2017-11-01

Calcite aggregates were deformed to high strain using high-pressure torsion and applying confining pressures of 1-6 GPa and temperatures between room temperature and 450 °C. The run products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, and key microstructural parameters were extracted employing X-ray line profile analysis. The dominant slip system was determined as r { 10 1 bar 4 } ⟨ 2 bar 021 ⟩ with edge dislocation character. The resulting dislocation density and the size of the coherently scattering domains (CSD) exhibit a systematic dependence on the P-T conditions of deformation. While high pressure generally impedes recovery through reducing point defect mobility, the picture is complicated by pressure-induced phase transformations in the CaCO3 system. Transition from the calcite stability field to those of the high-pressure polymorphs CaCO3-II, CaCO3-III and CaCO3-IIIb leads to a change of the microstructural evolution with deformation. At 450 °C and pressures within the calcite stability field, dislocation densities and CSD sizes saturate at shear strains exceeding 10 in agreement with earlier studies at lower pressures. In the stability field of CaCO3-II, the dislocation density exhibits a more complex behavior. Furthermore, at a given strain and strain rate, the dislocation density increases and the CSD size decreases with increasing pressure within the stability fields of either calcite or of the high-pressure polymorphs. There is, however, a jump from high dislocation densities and small CSDs in the upper pressure region of the calcite stability field to lower dislocation densities and larger CSDs in the low-pressure region of the CaCO3-II stability field. This jump is more pronounced at higher temperatures and less so at room temperature. The pressure influence on the deformation-induced evolution of dislocation densities implies that pressure variations may change the rheology of carbonate rocks. In particular, a weakening is expected to occur at the transition from the calcite to the CaCO3-II stability field, if aragonite does not form.

The new misfit compound (BiSe){sub 1.15}(TiSe{sub 2}){sub 2} and the role of dimensionality in the Cu{sub x}(BiSe){sub 1+δ}(TiSe{sub 2}){sub n} series

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Trump, Benjamin A., E-mail: btrump1@jhu.edu; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Institute for Quantum Matter, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218; Livi, Kenneth J.T.

The synthesis and physical properties of the new misfit compound (BiSe){sub 1.15}(TiSe{sub 2}){sub 2} are reported. Transmission electron microscopy and powder X-ray diffraction show that the structure consists of alternating rock-salt type BiSe layers and hexagonal (TiSe{sub 2}){sub 2} double layers. Resistivity, specific heat, and magnetization measurements show that it has metallic and diamagnetic behaviors. These results are interpreted and discussed in the context of the transition between single-layer (BiSe){sub 1.13}(TiSe{sub 2}), which shows no charge density wave, and infinite-layered (bulk) 1T-TiSe{sub 2}, which undergoes a charge density wave transition at T=202 K. Intercalation with copper, Cu{sub x}(BiSe){sub 1.15}(TiSe{sub 2}){submore » 2}, (0≤x≤0.10) is also reported, but unlike Cu{sub x}TiSe{sub 2}, no superconductivity is observed down to T=0.05 K. Thus, the series Cu{sub x}(BiSe){sub 1+δ}(TiSe{sub 2}){sub n} provides an effective approach to elucidate the impact of dimensionality on charge density wave formation and superconductivity. - Graphical abstract: The newly discovered misfit compound (BiSe){sub 1.15}(TiSe{sub 2}){sub 2} shown in the series (BiSe){sub 1+δ}(TiSe{sub 2}){sub n}. Display Omitted - Highlights: • Reports the structure and properties of the new misfit compound (BiSe){sub 1.15}(TiSe{sub 2}){sub 2}. • The structure consists of a rock salt type BiSe layer and a double (TiSe{sub 2}){sub 2} layer. • The n=1, 2 misfits (BiSe){sub 1+δ}(TiSe{sub 2}){sub n} are found not to exhibit CDW transitions. • Evidence is presented that there is likely a low-lying CDW excited state. • The series Cu{sub x}(BiSe){sub 1+δ}(TiSe{sub 2}){sub 2} does not superconduct, unlike Cu{sub x}TiSe{sub 2}.« less

Stoichiometry effect on the irradiation response in the microstructure of zirconium carbides

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Young Yang; Wei-Yang Lo; Clayton Dickerson

2014-11-01

Zone-refined ultra high pure ZrC with five C/Zr ratios ranging from 0.84 to 1.17 was irradiated using a 2 MeV proton beam at 1125 C. The stoichiometry effect on the irradiation response of ZrC microstructure was examined using transmission electron microscopy following the irradiation. The irradiated microstructures generally feature a high density of perfect dislocation loops particularly at away from the graphite precipitates, and the C/Zr ratio shows a notable effect on the size and density of dislocation loops. The dislocation loops are identified as interstitial type perfect loops, and it was indirectly proved that the dislocation loop core likelymore » consists of carbon atoms. Graphite precipitates that form with excess carbon in the super-stoichiometric ZrC are detrimental, and the dramatic increases in the size of and density of dislocation loops in the vicinity of graphite precipitates in ZrC phase were observed. Irradiationinduced faceted voids were only observed in ZrC0.95, which is attributed to the pre-existing dislocation lines as biased sinks for vacancies.« less

The Effects of Prior Cold Work on the Shock Response of Copper

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Millett, J. C. F.; Higgins, D. L.; Chapman, D. J.; Whiteman, G.; Jones, I. P.; Chiu, Y.-L.

2018-04-01

A series of experiments have been performed to probe the effects of dislocation density on the shock response of copper. The shear strength immediately behind the shock front has been measured using embedded manganin stress gauges, whilst the post shock microstructural and mechanical response has been monitored via one-dimensional recovery experiments. Material in the half hard (high dislocation density) condition was shown to have both a higher shear strength and higher rate of change of shear strength with impact stress than its annealed (low dislocation density) counterpart. Microstructural analysis showed a much higher dislocation density in the half hard material compared to the annealed after shock loading, whilst post shock mechanical examination showed a significant degree of hardening in the annealed state with reduced, but still significant amount in the half hard state, thus showing a correlation between temporally resolved stress gauge measurements and post shock microstructural and mechanical properties.

Dislocation evolution in 316 L stainless steel during multiaxial ratchetting deformation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dong Yawei; Kang Guozheng, E-mail: guozhengkang@yahoo.com.cn; Liu Yujie

2012-03-15

Dislocation patterns and their evolutions in 316 L stainless steel during the multiaxial ratchetting deformation were observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The microscopic observations indicate that the dislocation evolution presented during the multiaxial ratchetting with four kinds of multiaxial loading paths is similar to that in the uniaxial case [G. Z. Kang et al., Mater Sci Eng A 527 (2010) 5952]. That is, dislocation networks and dislocation tangles are formed quickly by the multiple-slip and cross-slip of dislocation activated by applied multiaxial stress; and then polarized patterns such as dislocation walls and elongated incipient dislocation cells are formed atmore » the last stage of multiaxial ratchetting. The dislocation patterns evolve more quickly from the modes at low dislocation density to the ones at high density during the multiaxial ratchetting than that in the uniaxial case, and some traces of multiple-slip are observed in the multiaxial ones. The dislocation evolution during the multiaxial ratchetting deformation is summarized by comparing the observed dislocation patterns with those presented in the multiaxial strain-controlled and symmetrical stress-controlled cyclic tests. The multiaxial ratchetting of 316 L stainless steel can be microscopically and qualitatively explained by the observed evolution of dislocation patterns. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Dislocation patterns change from lines and nets to tangles, walls and cells. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Dislocation patterns evolve quicker in the multiaxial case. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Aligned dislocation arrays and some traces of multiple slips are observed. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Heterogeneous dislocation patterns result in the multiaxial ratchetting.« less

Initial dislocation structure and dynamic dislocation multiplication in Mo single crystals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hsiung, L M; Lassila, D H

Initial dislocation structure in annealed high-purity Mo single crystals and deformation substructure in a crystal subjected to 1% compression have been examined and studied in order to investigate dislocation multiplication mechanisms in the early stages of plastic deformation. The initial dislocation density is in a range of 10{sup 6} {approx} 10{sup 7} cm{sup -2}, and the dislocation structure is found to contain many grown-in superjogs along dislocation lines. The dislocation density increases to a range of 10{sup 8} {approx} 10{sup 9} cm{sup -2}, and the average jog height is also found to increase after compressing for a total strain ofmore » 1%. It is proposed that the preexisting jogged screw dislocations can act as (multiple) dislocation multiplication sources when deformed under quasi-static conditions. Both the jog height and length of link segment (between jogs) can increase by stress-induced jog coalescence, which takes place via the lateral migration (drift) of superjogs driven by unbalanced line-tension partials acting on link segments of unequal lengths. Applied shear stress begins to push each link segment to precede dislocation multiplication when link length and jog height are greater than critical lengths. This dynamic dislocation multiplication source is subsequently verified by direct simulations of dislocation dynamics under stress to be crucial in the early stages of plastic deformation in Mo single crystals.« less

Strain-assisted current-induced magnetization reversal in magnetic tunnel junctions: A micromagnetic study with phase-field microelasticity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Huang, H. B., E-mail: houbinghuang@gmail.com; Department of Physics, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083; Hu, J. M.

2014-09-22

Effect of substrate misfit strain on current-induced in-plane magnetization reversal in CoFeB-MgO based magnetic tunnel junctions is investigated by combining micromagnetic simulations with phase-field microelasticity theory. It is found that the critical current density for in-plane magnetization reversal decreases dramatically with an increasing substrate strain, since the effective elastic field can drag the magnetization to one of the four in-plane diagonal directions. A potential strain-assisted multilevel bit spin transfer magnetization switching device using substrate misfit strain is also proposed.

A dislocation density-based continuum model of the anisotropic shock response of single crystal α-cyclotrimethylene trinitramine

DOE PAGES

Luscher, Darby Jon; Addessio, Francis L.; Cawkwell, Marc Jon; ...

2017-01-01

Here, we have developed a model for the finite deformation thermomechanical response of α-cyclotrimethylene trinitramine (RDX). Our model accounts for nonlinear thermoelastic lattice deformation through a free energy-based equation of state developed by Cawkwell et al. (2016) in combination with temperature and pressure dependent elastic constants, as well as dislocation-mediated plastic slip on a set of slip systems motivated by experimental observation. The kinetics of crystal plasticity are modeled using the Orowan equation relating slip rate to dislocation density and the dislocation velocity developed by Austin and McDowell (2011), which naturally accounts for transition from thermally activated to dislocation dragmore » limited regimes. Evolution of dislocation density is specified in terms of local ordinary differential equations reflecting dislocation–dislocation interactions. This paper presents details of the theory and parameterization of the model, followed by discussion of simulations of flyer plate impact experiments. Impact conditions explored within this combined simulation and experimental effort span shock pressures ranging from 1 to 3 GPa for four crystallographic orientations and multiple specimen thicknesses. Simulation results generated using this model are shown to be in strong agreement with velocimetry measurements from the corresponding plate impact experiments. Finally, simulation results are used to motivate conclusions about the nature of dislocation-mediated plasticity in RDX.« less

Method of growing GaN films with a low density of structural defects using an interlayer

DOEpatents

Bourret-Courchesne, Edith D.

2003-01-01

A dramatic reduction of the dislocation density in GaN was obtained by insertion of a single thin interlayer grown at an intermediate temperature (IT-IL) after the growth of an initial grown at high temperature. A description of the growth process is presented with characterization results aimed at understanding the mechanisms of reduction in dislocation density. A large percentage of the threading dislocations present in the first GaN epilayer are found to bend near the interlayer and do not propagate into the top layer which grows at higher temperature in a lateral growth mode. TEM studies show that the mechanisms of dislocation reduction are similar to those described for the epitaxial lateral overgrowth process, however a notable difference is the absence of coalescence boundaries.

GaN microrod sidewall epitaxial lateral overgrowth on a close-packed microrod template

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duan, Xiaoling; Zhang, Jincheng; Xiao, Ming; Zhang, Jinfeng; Hao, Yue

2018-05-01

We demonstrate a GaN growth method using microrod sidewall epitaxial lateral overgrowth (MSELO) on a close-packed microrod template by a nonlithographic technique. The density and distribution of threading dislocations were determined by the density and distribution of microrods and the nucleation model. MSELO exhibited two different nucleation models determined by the direction and degree of substrate misorientation and the sidewall curvature: one-sidewall and three-sidewall nucleation, predicting the dislocation density values. As a result, the threading dislocation density was markedly decreased from 2 × 109 to 5 × 107 cm‑2 with a small coalescence thickness of ∼2 µm for the close-packed 3000 nm microrod sample.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ast, D.G.

Research focused on control of misfit dislocations in strained epitaxial layers of GaAs through prepatterning of the substrate. Patterning and etching trenches into GaAs substrates before epitaxial growth results in nonplanar wafer surface, which makes device fabrication more difficult. Selective ion damaging the substrate prior to growth was investigated. The question of whether the overlayer must or must not be discontinuous was addressed. The third research direction was to extend results from molecular beam epitaxially grown material to organometallic chemical vapor deposition. Effort was increased to study the patterning processes and the damage it introduces into the substrate. The researchmore » program was initiated after the discovery that 500-eV dry etching in GaAs damages the substrate much deeper than the ion range.« less

α-Al2O3/Ga2O3 superlattices coherently grown on r-plane sapphire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oshima, Takayoshi; Kato, Yuji; Imura, Masataka; Nakayama, Yoshiko; Takeguchi, Masaki

2018-06-01

Ten-period binary α-Al2O3/Ga2O3 superlattices were fabricated on r-plane sapphire substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. By systematic variation of α-Ga2O3 thickness and evaluation through X-ray reflectivity and diffraction measurements and scanning transmission electron microscopy, we verified that the superlattice with α-Ga2O3 thickness up to ∼1 nm had coherent interfaces without misfit dislocation in spite of the large lattice mismatches. This successful fabrication of coherent α-Al2O3/Ga2O3 superlattices will encourage further development of α-(Al x Ga1‑ x )2O3-based heterostructures including superlattices.

Cathodoluminescence and transmission electron microscopy study of dark line defects in thick In(0.2)Ga(0.8)As/GaAs multiple quantum wells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rich, D. H.; George, T.; Pike, W. T.; Maserjian, J.; Grunthaner, F. J.; Larsson, A.

1992-01-01

TEM and cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging and spectroscopy have been performed on In(0.2)Ga(0.8)As/GaAs MQW structures. Cross-sectional and plan-view TEM demonstrates that misfit dislocations (MDs) are confined to the MQW-to-GaAs interfacial regions. The observed large variation in the exciton luminescence intensity is interpreted as due to the presence of nonradiative recombination centers spread homogeneously in the MQW region away from interface MDs. These nonradiative recombination centers compete with exciton and midgap radiative centers at wavelengths of 950 nm and 1000-1600 nm, respectively, resulting in spatiallty correlated dark line defects for all CL imaging wavelengths.

Nanoscale size dependence parameters on lattice thermal conductivity of Wurtzite GaN nanowires

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mamand, S.M., E-mail: soran.mamand@univsul.net; Omar, M.S.; Muhammad, A.J.

2012-05-15

Graphical abstract: Temperature dependence of calculated lattice thermal conductivity of Wurtzite GaN nanowires. Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A modified Callaway model is used to calculate lattice thermal conductivity of Wurtzite GaN nanowires. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A direct method is used to calculate phonon group velocity for these nanowires. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer 3-Gruneisen parameter, surface roughness, and dislocations are successfully investigated. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Dislocation densities are decreases with the decrease of wires diameter. -- Abstract: A detailed calculation of lattice thermal conductivity of freestanding Wurtzite GaN nanowires with diameter ranging from 97 to 160 nm in the temperature range 2-300 K, was performed using a modified Callaway model.more » Both longitudinal and transverse modes are taken into account explicitly in the model. A method is used to calculate the Debye and phonon group velocities for different nanowire diameters from their related melting points. Effect of Gruneisen parameter, surface roughness, and dislocations as structure dependent parameters are successfully used to correlate the calculated values of lattice thermal conductivity to that of the experimentally measured curves. It was observed that Gruneisen parameter will decrease with decreasing nanowire diameters. Scattering of phonons is assumed to be by nanowire boundaries, imperfections, dislocations, electrons, and other phonons via both normal and Umklapp processes. Phonon confinement and size effects as well as the role of dislocation in limiting thermal conductivity are investigated. At high temperatures and for dislocation densities greater than 10{sup 14} m{sup -2} the lattice thermal conductivity would be limited by dislocation density, but for dislocation densities less than 10{sup 14} m{sup -2}, lattice thermal conductivity would be independent of that.« less

The role of surface roughness on dislocation bending and stress evolution in low mobility AlGaN films during growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bardhan, Abheek; Mohan, Nagaboopathy; Chandrasekar, Hareesh; Ghosh, Priyadarshini; Sridhara Rao, D. V.; Raghavan, Srinivasan

2018-04-01

The bending and interaction of threading dislocations are essential to reduce their density for applications involving III-nitrides. Bending of dislocation lines also relaxes the compressive growth stress that is essential to prevent cracking on cooling down due to tensile thermal expansion mismatch stress while growing on Si substrates. It is shown in this work that surface roughness plays a key role in dislocation bending. Dislocations only bend and relax compressive stresses when the lines intersect a smooth surface. These films then crack. In rough films, dislocation lines which terminate at the bottom of the valleys remain straight. Compressive stresses are not relaxed and the films are relatively crack-free. The reasons for this difference are discussed in this work along with the implications on simultaneously meeting the requirements of films being smooth, crack free and having low defect density for device applications.

Effect of annealing temperature on the thermal stress and dislocation density of mc-Si ingot grown by DS process for solar cell application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanmugavel, S.; Srinivasan, M.; Aravinth, K.; Ramasamy, P.

2018-04-01

90% of the solar industries are using crystalline silicon. Cost wise the multi-crystalline silicon solar cells are better compared to mono crystalline silicon. But because of the presence of grain boundaries, dislocations and impurities, the efficiency of the multi-crystalline silicon solar cells is lower than that of mono crystalline silicon solar cells. By reducing the defect and dislocation we can achieve high conversion efficiency. The velocity of dislocation motion increases with stress. By annealing the grown ingot at proper temperature we can decrease the stress and dislocation. Our simulation results show that the value of stress and dislocation density is decreased by annealing the grown ingot at 1400K and the input parameters can be implemented in real system to grow a better mc-Si ingot for energy harvesting applications.

Modeling of dislocation channel width evolution in irradiated metals

DOE PAGES

Doyle, Peter J.; Benensky, Kelsa M.; Zinkle, Steven J.

2017-11-08

Defect-free dislocation channel formation has been reported to promote plastic instability during tensile testing via localized plastic flow, leading to a distinct loss of ductility and strain hardening in many low-temperature irradiated materials. In order to study the underlying mechanisms governing dislocation channel width and formation, the channel formation process is modeled via a simple stochastic dislocation-jog process dependent upon grain size, defect cluster density, and defect size. Dislocations traverse a field of defect clusters and jog stochastically upon defect interaction, forming channels of low defect-density. And based upon prior molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and in-situ experimental transmission electron microscopymore » (TEM) observations, each dislocation encounter with a dislocation loop or stacking fault tetrahedron (SFT) is assumed to cause complete absorption of the defect cluster, prompting the dislocation to jog up or down by a distance equal to half the defect cluster diameter. Channels are predicted to form rapidly and are comparable to reported TEM measurements for many materials. Predicted channel widths are found to be most strongly dependent on mean defect size and correlated well with a power law dependence on defect diameter and density, and distance from the dislocation source. Due to the dependence of modeled channel width on defect diameter and density, maximum channel width is predicted to slowly increase as accumulated dose increases. The relatively weak predicted dependence of channel formation width with distance, in accordance with a diffusion analogy, implies that after only a few microns from the source, most channels observed via TEM analyses may not appear to vary with distance because of limitations in the field-of-view to a few microns. Furthermore, examinations of the effect of the so-called “source-broadening” mechanism of channel formation showed that its effect is simply to add a minimum thickness to the channel without affecting channel dependence on the given parameters.« less

The Weighted Burgers Vector: a new quantity for constraining dislocation densities and types using electron backscatter diffraction on 2D sections through crystalline materials.

PubMed

Wheeler, J; Mariani, E; Piazolo, S; Prior, D J; Trimby, P; Drury, M R

2009-03-01

The Weighted Burgers Vector (WBV) is defined here as the sum, over all types of dislocations, of [(density of intersections of dislocation lines with a map) x (Burgers vector)]. Here we show that it can be calculated, for any crystal system, solely from orientation gradients in a map view, unlike the full dislocation density tensor, which requires gradients in the third dimension. No assumption is made about gradients in the third dimension and they may be non-zero. The only assumption involved is that elastic strains are small so the lattice distortion is entirely due to dislocations. Orientation gradients can be estimated from gridded orientation measurements obtained by EBSD mapping, so the WBV can be calculated as a vector field on an EBSD map. The magnitude of the WBV gives a lower bound on the magnitude of the dislocation density tensor when that magnitude is defined in a coordinate invariant way. The direction of the WBV can constrain the types of Burgers vectors of geometrically necessary dislocations present in the microstructure, most clearly when it is broken down in terms of lattice vectors. The WBV has three advantages over other measures of local lattice distortion: it is a vector and hence carries more information than a scalar quantity, it has an explicit mathematical link to the individual Burgers vectors of dislocations and, since it is derived via tensor calculus, it is not dependent on the map coordinate system. If a sub-grain wall is included in the WBV calculation, the magnitude of the WBV becomes dependent on the step size but its direction still carries information on the Burgers vectors in the wall. The net Burgers vector content of dislocations intersecting an area of a map can be simply calculated by an integration round the edge of that area, a method which is fast and complements point-by-point WBV calculations.

Modeling of dislocation channel width evolution in irradiated metals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doyle, Peter J.; Benensky, Kelsa M.; Zinkle, Steven J.

2018-02-01

Defect-free dislocation channel formation has been reported to promote plastic instability during tensile testing via localized plastic flow, leading to a distinct loss of ductility and strain hardening in many low-temperature irradiated materials. In order to study the underlying mechanisms governing dislocation channel width and formation, the channel formation process is modeled via a simple stochastic dislocation-jog process dependent upon grain size, defect cluster density, and defect size. Dislocations traverse a field of defect clusters and jog stochastically upon defect interaction, forming channels of low defect-density. Based upon prior molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and in-situ experimental transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations, each dislocation encounter with a dislocation loop or stacking fault tetrahedron (SFT) is assumed to cause complete absorption of the defect cluster, prompting the dislocation to jog up or down by a distance equal to half the defect cluster diameter. Channels are predicted to form rapidly and are comparable to reported TEM measurements for many materials. Predicted channel widths are found to be most strongly dependent on mean defect size and correlated well with a power law dependence on defect diameter and density, and distance from the dislocation source. Due to the dependence of modeled channel width on defect diameter and density, maximum channel width is predicted to slowly increase as accumulated dose increases. The relatively weak predicted dependence of channel formation width with distance, in accordance with a diffusion analogy, implies that after only a few microns from the source, most channels observed via TEM analyses may not appear to vary with distance because of limitations in the field-of-view to a few microns. Further, examinations of the effect of the so-called "source-broadening" mechanism of channel formation showed that its effect is simply to add a minimum thickness to the channel without affecting channel dependence on the given parameters.

Modeling of dislocation channel width evolution in irradiated metals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Doyle, Peter J.; Benensky, Kelsa M.; Zinkle, Steven J.

Defect-free dislocation channel formation has been reported to promote plastic instability during tensile testing via localized plastic flow, leading to a distinct loss of ductility and strain hardening in many low-temperature irradiated materials. In order to study the underlying mechanisms governing dislocation channel width and formation, the channel formation process is modeled via a simple stochastic dislocation-jog process dependent upon grain size, defect cluster density, and defect size. Dislocations traverse a field of defect clusters and jog stochastically upon defect interaction, forming channels of low defect-density. And based upon prior molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and in-situ experimental transmission electron microscopymore » (TEM) observations, each dislocation encounter with a dislocation loop or stacking fault tetrahedron (SFT) is assumed to cause complete absorption of the defect cluster, prompting the dislocation to jog up or down by a distance equal to half the defect cluster diameter. Channels are predicted to form rapidly and are comparable to reported TEM measurements for many materials. Predicted channel widths are found to be most strongly dependent on mean defect size and correlated well with a power law dependence on defect diameter and density, and distance from the dislocation source. Due to the dependence of modeled channel width on defect diameter and density, maximum channel width is predicted to slowly increase as accumulated dose increases. The relatively weak predicted dependence of channel formation width with distance, in accordance with a diffusion analogy, implies that after only a few microns from the source, most channels observed via TEM analyses may not appear to vary with distance because of limitations in the field-of-view to a few microns. Furthermore, examinations of the effect of the so-called “source-broadening” mechanism of channel formation showed that its effect is simply to add a minimum thickness to the channel without affecting channel dependence on the given parameters.« less

Effect of dislocations on properties of heteroepitaxial InP solar cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weinberg, I.; Swartz, C. K.; Curtis, H. B.; Brinker, D. J.; Jenkins, P.; Faur, M.

1991-01-01

The apparently unrelated phenomena of temperature dependency, carrier removal and photoluminescence are shown to be affected by the high dislocation densities present in heteroepitaxial InP solar cells. Using homoepitaxial InP cells as a baseline, it is found that the relatively high dislocation densities present in heteroepitaxial InP/GaAs cells lead to increased volumes of dVoc/dt and carrier removal rate and substantial decreases in photoluminescence spectral intensities. With respect to dVoc/dt, the observed effect is attributed to the tendency of dislocations to reduce Voc. Although the basic cause for the observed increase in carrier removal rate is unclear, it is speculated that the decreased photoluminescence intensity is attributable to defect levels introduced by dislocations in the heteroepitaxial cells.

Defect structure of high temperature hydride vapor phase epitaxy-grown epitaxial (0 0 0 1) AlN/sapphire using growth mode modification process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Su, Xujun; Zhang, Jicai; Huang, Jun; Zhang, Jinping; Wang, Jianfeng; Xu, Ke

2017-06-01

Defect structures were investigated by transmission electron microscopy for AlN/sapphire (0 0 0 1) epilayers grown by high temperature hydride vapor phase epitaxy using a growth mode modification process. The defect structures, including threading dislocations, inversion domains, and voids, were analyzed by diffraction contrast, high-resolution imaging, and convergent beam diffraction. AlN film growth was initiated at 1450 °C with high V/III ratio for 8 min. This was followed by low V/III ratio growth for 12 min. The near-interfacial region shows a high density of threading dislocations and inversion domains. Most of these dislocations have Burgers vector b = 1/3〈1 1 2 0〉 and were reduced with the formation of dislocation loops. In the middle range 400 nm < h < 2 μm, dislocations gradually aggregated and reduced to ∼109 cm-2. The inversion domains have a shuttle-like shape with staggered boundaries that deviate by ∼ ±5° from the c axis. Above 2 μm thickness, the film consists of isolated threading dislocations with a total density of 8 × 108 cm-2. Most of threading dislocations are either pure edge or mixed dislocations. The threading dislocation reduction in these films is associated with dislocation loops formation and dislocation aggregation-interaction during island growth with high V/III ratio.

Crystallographic tilt and in-plane anisotropies of an a-plane InGaN/GaN layered structure grown by MOCVD on r-plane sapphire using a ZnO buffer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, H. F.; Liu, W.; Guo, S.; Chi, D. Z.

2016-03-01

High-resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD) was used to investigate the crystallographic tilts and structural anisotropies in epitaxial nonpolar a-plane InGaN/GaN grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition on r-plane sapphire using a ZnO buffer. The substrate had an unintentional miscut of 0.14° towards its [-4 2 2 3] axis. However, HRXRD revealed a tilt of 0.26° (0.20°) between the ZnO (GaN) (11-20) and the Al2O3 (1-102) atomic planes, with the (11-20) axis of ZnO (GaN) tilted towards its c-axis, which has a difference of 163° in azimuth from that of the substrate’s miscut. Excess broadenings in the GaN/ZnO (11-20) rocking curves (RCs) were observed along its c-axis. Specific analyses revealed that partial dislocations and anisotropic in-plane strains, rather than surface-related effects, wafer curvature or stacking faults, are the dominant factors for the structural anisotropy. The orientation of the partial dislocations is most likely affected by the miscut of the substrate, e.g. via tilting of the misfit dislocation gliding planes created during island coalescences. Their Burgers vector components in the growth direction, in turn, gave rise to crystallographic tilts in the same direction as that of the excess RC-broadenings.

Polychromatic Microdiffraction Analysis of Defect Self-Organization in Shock Deformed Single Crystals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Barabash, Rozaliya; Ice, Gene E; Liu, Wenjun

A spatially resolved X-ray diffraction method - with a submicron 3D resolution together with SEM and OIM analysis are applied to understand the arrangements of voids, geometrically necessary dislocations and strain gradient distributions in samples of Al (1 2 3) and Cu (0 0 1) single crystals shocked to incipient spallation fracture. We describe how geometrically necessary dislocations and the effective strain gradient alter white beam Laue patterns of the shocked materials. Several distinct structural zones are observed at different depths under the impact surface. The density of geometrically necessary dislocations (GNDs) is extremely high near the impact and backmore » surface of the shock recovered crystals. The spall region is characterized by a large density of mesoscale voids and GNDs. The spall region is separated from the impact and back surfaces by compressed regions with high total dislocation density but lower GNDs density. Self-organization of shear bands is observed in the shock recovered Cu single crystal.« less

Fermi energy control of vacancy coalescence and dislocation density in melt-grown GaAs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lagowski, J.; Gatos, H. C.; Lin, D. G.; Aoyama, T.

1984-01-01

A striking effect of the Fermi energy on the dislocation density in melt-grown GaAs has been discovered. Thus, a shift of the Fermi energy from 0.1 eV above to 0.2 eV below its intrinsic value (at high temperature, i.e., near 1100 K) increases the dislocation density by as much as five orders of magnitude. The Fermi energy shift was brought about by n-type and p-type doping at a level of about 10 to the 17th per cu cm (under conditions of optimum partial pressure of As, i.e., under optimum melt stoichiometry). This effect must be associated with the fact that the Fermi energy controls the charge state of vacancies (i.e., the occupancy of the associated electronic states) which in turn must control their tendency to coalesce and thus the dislocation density. It appears most likely that gallium vacancies are the critical species.

Self-organized nano-structuring of CoO islands on Fe(001)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brambilla, A.; Picone, A.; Giannotti, D.; Riva, M.; Bussetti, G.; Berti, G.; Calloni, A.; Finazzi, M.; Ciccacci, F.; Duò, L.

2016-01-01

The realization of nanometer-scale structures through bottom-up strategies can be accomplished by exploiting a buried network of dislocations. We show that, by following appropriate growth steps in ultra-high vacuum molecular beam epitaxy, it is possible to grow nano-structured films of CoO coupled to Fe(001) substrates, with tunable sizes (both the lateral size and the maximum height scale linearly with coverage). The growth mode is discussed in terms of the evolution of surface morphology and chemical interactions as a function of the CoO thickness. Scanning tunneling microscopy measurements reveal that square mounds of CoO with lateral dimensions of less than 25 nm and heights below 10 atomic layers are obtained by growing few-nanometers-thick CoO films on a pre-oxidized Fe(001) surface covered by an ultra-thin Co buffer layer. In the early stages of growth, a network of misfit dislocations develops, which works as a template for the CoO nano-structuring. From a chemical point of view, at variance with typical CoO/Fe interfaces, neither Fe segregation at the surface nor Fe oxidation at the buried interface are observed, as seen by Auger electron spectroscopy and X-ray Photoemission Spectroscopy, respectively.

Dislocation Multiplication in the Early Stage of Deformation in Mo Single Crystals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hsiung, L.; Lassila, D.H.

Initial dislocation structure in annealed high-purity Mo single crystals and deformation substructure in a crystal subjected to 1% compression have been examined and studied using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques in order to investigate dislocation multiplication mechanisms in the early stage of plastic deformation. The initial dislocation density is in a range of 10{sup 6} {approx} 10{sup 7} cm{sup -2}, and the dislocation structure is found to contain many grown-in superjogs along dislocation lines. The dislocation density increases to a range of 10{sup 8} {approx} 10{sup 9} cm{sup -2}, and the average jog height is also found to increase aftermore » compressing for a total strain of 1%. It is proposed that the preexisting jogged screw dislocations can act as (multiple) dislocation multiplication sources when deformed under quasi-static conditions. The jog height can increase by stress-induced jog coalescence, which takes place via the lateral migration (drift) of superjogs driven by unbalanced line-tension partials acting on link segments of unequal lengths. The coalescence of superjogs results in an increase of both link length and jog height. Applied shear stress begins to push each link segment to precede dislocation multiplication when link length and jog height are greater than critical lengths. This ''dynamic'' dislocation multiplication source is suggested to be crucial for the dislocation multiplication in the early stage of plastic deformation in Mo.« less

Microstructural changes in Beta-silicon nitride grains upon crystallizing the grain-boundary glass

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, William E.; Hilmas, Gregory E.; Lange, F. F. (Editor)

1991-01-01

Crystallizing the grain boundary glass of a liquid phase sintered Si3N4 ceramic for 2 h or less at 1500 C led to formation of gamma Y2Si2O7. After 5 h at 1500 C, the gamma Y2Si2O7 had transformed to beta Y2Si2O7 with a concurrent dramatic increase in dislocation density within beta Si3N4 grains. Reasons for the increased dislocation density is discussed. Annealing for 20 h at 1500 C reduced dislocation densities to the levels found in as-sintered materials.

Heterogeneous dislocation loop formation near grain boundaries in a neutron-irradiated commercial FeCrAl alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Field, Kevin G.; Briggs, Samuel A.; Hu, Xunxiang; Yamamoto, Yukinori; Howard, Richard H.; Sridharan, Kumar

2017-01-01

FeCrAl alloys are an attractive class of materials for nuclear power applications because of their increased environmental compatibility compared with more traditional nuclear materials. Preliminary studies into the radiation tolerance of FeCrAl alloys under accelerated neutron testing between 300 and 400 °C have shown post-irradiation microstructures containing dislocation loops and a Cr-rich α‧ phase. Although these initial studies established the post-irradiation microstructures, there was little to no focus on understanding the influence of pre-irradiation microstructures on this response. In this study, a well-annealed commercial FeCrAl alloy, Alkrothal 720, was neutron irradiated to 1.8 displacements per atom (dpa) at 382 °C and then the effect of random high-angle grain boundaries on the spatial distribution and size of a〈100〉 dislocation loops, a/2〈111〉 dislocation loops, and black dot damage was analyzed using on-zone scanning transmission electron microscopy. Results showed a clear heterogeneous dislocation loop formation with a/2〈111〉 dislocation loops showing an increased number density and size, black dot damage showing a significant number density decrease, and a〈100〉 dislocation loops exhibiting an increased size in the vicinity of the grain boundary. These results suggest the importance of the pre-irradiation microstructure and, specifically, defect sink density spacing to the radiation tolerance of FeCrAl alloys.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nguyen, Thao; Luscher, D. J.; Wilkerson, J. W.

We developed a framework for dislocation-based viscoplasticity and dynamic ductile failure to model high strain rate deformation and damage in single crystals. The rate-dependence of the crystal plasticity formulation is based on the physics of relativistic dislocation kinetics suited for extremely high strain rates. The damage evolution is based on the dynamics of void growth, which are governed by both micro-inertia as well as dislocation kinetics and dislocation substructure evolution. Furthermore, an averaging scheme is proposed in order to approximate the evolution of the dislocation substructure in both the macroscale as well as its spatial distribution at the microscale. Inmore » addition, a concept of a single equivalent dislocation density that effectively captures the collective influence of dislocation density on all active slip systems is proposed here. Together, these concepts and approximations enable the use of semi-analytic solutions for void growth dynamics developed in [J. Wilkerson and K. Ramesh. A dynamic void growth model governed by dislocation kinetics. J. Mech. Phys. Solids, 70:262–280, 2014.], which greatly reduce the computational overhead that would otherwise be required. The resulting homogenized framework has been implemented into a commercially available finite element package, and a validation study against a suite of direct numerical simulations was carried out.« less

A dislocation-based crystal plasticity framework for dynamic ductile failure of single crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, Thao; Luscher, D. J.; Wilkerson, J. W.

2017-11-01

A framework for dislocation-based viscoplasticity and dynamic ductile failure has been developed to model high strain rate deformation and damage in single crystals. The rate-dependence of the crystal plasticity formulation is based on the physics of relativistic dislocation kinetics suited for extremely high strain rates. The damage evolution is based on the dynamics of void growth, which are governed by both micro-inertia as well as dislocation kinetics and dislocation substructure evolution. An averaging scheme is proposed in order to approximate the evolution of the dislocation substructure in both the macroscale as well as its spatial distribution at the microscale. Additionally, a concept of a single equivalent dislocation density that effectively captures the collective influence of dislocation density on all active slip systems is proposed here. Together, these concepts and approximations enable the use of semi-analytic solutions for void growth dynamics developed in (Wilkerson and Ramesh, 2014), which greatly reduce the computational overhead that would otherwise be required. The resulting homogenized framework has been implemented into a commercially available finite element package, and a validation study against a suite of direct numerical simulations was carried out.

A dislocation-based crystal plasticity framework for dynamic ductile failure of single crystals

DOE PAGES

Nguyen, Thao; Luscher, D. J.; Wilkerson, J. W.

2017-08-02

We developed a framework for dislocation-based viscoplasticity and dynamic ductile failure to model high strain rate deformation and damage in single crystals. The rate-dependence of the crystal plasticity formulation is based on the physics of relativistic dislocation kinetics suited for extremely high strain rates. The damage evolution is based on the dynamics of void growth, which are governed by both micro-inertia as well as dislocation kinetics and dislocation substructure evolution. Furthermore, an averaging scheme is proposed in order to approximate the evolution of the dislocation substructure in both the macroscale as well as its spatial distribution at the microscale. Inmore » addition, a concept of a single equivalent dislocation density that effectively captures the collective influence of dislocation density on all active slip systems is proposed here. Together, these concepts and approximations enable the use of semi-analytic solutions for void growth dynamics developed in [J. Wilkerson and K. Ramesh. A dynamic void growth model governed by dislocation kinetics. J. Mech. Phys. Solids, 70:262–280, 2014.], which greatly reduce the computational overhead that would otherwise be required. The resulting homogenized framework has been implemented into a commercially available finite element package, and a validation study against a suite of direct numerical simulations was carried out.« less

Investigation of dislocation cluster evolution during directional solidification of multicrystalline silicon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oriwol, Daniel; Trempa, Matthias; Sylla, Lamine; Leipner, Hartmut S.

2017-04-01

Dislocation clusters are the main crystal defects in multicrystalline silicon and are detrimental for solar cell efficiency. They were formed during the silicon ingot casting due to the relaxation of strain energy. The evolution of the dislocation clusters was studied by means of automated analysing tools of the standard wafer and cell production giving information about the cluster development as a function of the ingot height. Due to the observation of the whole wafer surface the point of view is of macroscopic nature. It was found that the dislocations tend to build clusters of high density which usually expand in diameter as a function of ingot height. According to their structure the dislocation clusters can be divided into light and dense clusters. The appearance of both types shows a clear dependence on the orientation of the grain growth direction. Additionally, a process of annihilation of dislocation clusters during the crystallization has been observed. To complement the macroscopic description, the dislocation clusters were also investigates by TEM. It is shown that the dislocations within the subgrain boundaries are closely arranged. Distances of 40-30 nm were found. These results lead to the conclusion that the dislocation density within the cluster structure is impossible to quantify by means of etch pit counting.

Coupling continuum dislocation transport with crystal plasticity for application to shock loading conditions

DOE PAGES

Luscher, Darby Jon; Mayeur, Jason Rhea; Mourad, Hashem Mohamed; ...

2015-08-05

Here, we have developed a multi-physics modeling approach that couples continuum dislocation transport, nonlinear thermoelasticity, crystal plasticity, and consistent internal stress and deformation fields to simulate the single-crystal response of materials under extreme dynamic conditions. Dislocation transport is modeled by enforcing dislocation conservation at a slip-system level through the solution of advection-diffusion equations. Nonlinear thermoelasticity provides a thermodynamically consistent equation of state to relate stress (including pressure), temperature, energy densities, and dissipation. Crystal plasticity is coupled to dislocation transport via Orowan's expression where the constitutive description makes use of recent advances in dislocation velocity theories applicable under extreme loading conditions.more » The configuration of geometrically necessary dislocation density gives rise to an internal stress field that can either inhibit or accentuate the flow of dislocations. An internal strain field associated with the internal stress field contributes to the kinematic decomposition of the overall deformation. The paper describes each theoretical component of the framework, key aspects of the constitutive theory, and some details of a one-dimensional implementation. Results from single-crystal copper plate impact simulations are discussed in order to highlight the role of dislocation transport and pile-up in shock loading regimes. The main conclusions of the paper reinforce the utility of the modeling approach to shock problems.« less

Quantification of dislocation nucleation stress in TiN through high-resolution in situ indentation experiments and first principles calculations

DOE PAGES

Li, N.; Yadav, S. K.; Liu, X. -Y.; ...

2015-11-05

Using the in situ indentation of TiN in a high-resolution transmission electron microscope, the nucleation of full as well as partial dislocations has been observed from {001} and {111} surfaces, respectively. The critical elastic strains associated with the nucleation of the dislocations were analyzed from the recorded atomic displacements, and the nucleation stresses corresponding to the measured critical strains were computed using density functional theory. The resolved shear stress was estimated to be 13.8 GPa for the partial dislocation 1/6 <110> {111} and 6.7 GPa for the full dislocation ½ <110> {110}. Moreover, such an approach of quantifying nucleation stressesmore » for defects via in situ high-resolution experiment coupled with density functional theory calculation may be applied to other unit processes.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Meimei; Wang, Leyun; Almer, Jonathan D.

Deformation processes in Grade 91 (Fe–9%Cr–1%Mo–V,Nb) and Grade 92 (Fe–9%Cr–0.5%Mo–2%W–V,Nb) ferritic–martensitic steels were investigated at temperatures between 20 and 650 °C using high-energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction with in situ thermal–mechanical loading. The change of the dislocation density with strain was quantified by X-ray diffraction line profile analysis complemented by transmission electron microscopy measurements. The relationship between dislocation density and strain during uniform deformation was described by a dislocation model, and two critical materials parameters, namely dislocation mean free path and dynamic recovery coefficient, were determined as a function of temperature. Effects of alloy chemistry, thermal–mechanical treatment and temperature on themore » tensile deformation process in Grade 91 and Grade 92 steels can be well understood by the dislocation evolution behavior.« less

Three-dimensional evaluation of gettering ability for oxygen atoms at small-angle tilt boundaries in Czochralski-grown silicon crystals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ohno, Yutaka, E-mail: yutakaohno@imr.tohoku.ac.jp; Inoue, Kaihei; Fujiwara, Kozo

2015-06-22

Three-dimensional distribution of oxygen atoms at small-angle tilt boundaries (SATBs) in Czochralski-grown p-type silicon ingots was investigated by atom probe tomography combined with transmission electron microscopy. Oxygen gettering along edge dislocations composing SATBs, post crystal growth, was observed. The gettering ability of SATBs would depend both on the dislocation strain and on the dislocation density. Oxygen atoms would agglomerate in the atomic sites under the tensile hydrostatic stress larger than about 2.0 GPa induced by the dislocations. It was suggested that the density of the atomic sites, depending on the tilt angle of SATBs, determined the gettering ability of SATBs.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Guangming; Zhou, Zhangjian; Mo, Kun

An application of high-energy wide angle synchrotron X-ray diffraction to investigate the tensile deformation of 9Cr ferritic/martensitic (F/M) ODS steel is presented. With tensile loading and in-situ Xray exposure, the lattice strain development of matrix was determined. The lattice strain was found to decrease with increasing temperature, and the difference in Young's modulus of six different reflections at different temperatures reveals the temperature dependence of elastic anisotropy. The mean internal stress was calculated and compared with the applied stress, showing that the strengthening factor increased with increasing temperature, indicating that the oxide nanoparticles have a good strengthening impact at highmore » temperature. The dislocation density and character were also measured during tensile deformation. The dislocation density decreased with increasing of temperature due to the greater mobility of dislocation at high temperature. The dislocation character was determined by best-fit methods for different dislocation average contrasts with various levels of uncertainty. The results shows edge type dislocations dominate the plastic strain at room temperature (RT) and 300 C, while the screw type dislocations dominate at 600 C. The dominance of edge character in 9Cr F/M ODS steels at RT and 300 C is likely due to the pinning effect of nanoparticles for higher mobile edge dislocations when compared with screw dislocations, while the stronger screw type of dislocation structure at 600 C may be explained by the activated cross slip of screw segments.« less

Lattice-Matched Semiconductor Layers on Single Crystalline Sapphire Substrate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Choi, Sang; King, Glen; Park, Yeonjoon

2009-01-01

SiGe is an important semiconductor alloy for high-speed field effect transistors (FETs), high-temperature thermoelectric devices, photovoltaic solar cells, and photon detectors. The growth of SiGe layer is difficult because SiGe alloys have different lattice constants from those of the common Si wafers, which leads to a high density of defects, including dislocations, micro-twins, cracks, and delaminations. This innovation utilizes newly developed rhombohedral epitaxy of cubic semiconductors on trigonal substrates in order to solve the lattice mismatch problem of SiGe by using trigonal single crystals like sapphire (Al2O3) as substrate to give a unique growth-orientation to the SiGe layer, which is automatically controlled at the interface upon sapphire (0001). This technology is different from previous silicon on insulator (SOI) or SGOI (SiGe on insulator) technologies that use amorphous SiO2 as the growth plane. A cubic semiconductor crystal is a special case of a rhombohedron with the inter-planar angle, alpha = 90 deg. With a mathematical transformation, all rhombohedrons can be described by trigonal crystal lattice structures. Therefore, all cubic lattice constants and crystal planes (hkl) s can be transformed into those of trigonal crystal parameters. These unique alignments enable a new opportunity of perfect lattice matching conditions, which can eliminate misfit dislocations. Previously, these atomic alignments were thought to be impossible or very difficult. With the invention of a new x-ray diffraction measurement method here, growth of cubic semiconductors on trigonal crystals became possible. This epitaxy and lattice-matching condition can be applied not only to SiGe (111)/sapphire (0001) substrate relations, but also to other crystal structures and other materials, including similar crystal structures which have pointgroup rotational symmetries by 120 because the cubic (111) direction has 120 rotational symmetry. The use of slightly miscut (less than plus or minus 10 deg.) sapphire (0001) substrate can be used to improve epitaxial relationships better by providing attractive atomic steps in the epitaxial process.

Epitaxially influenced boundary layer model for size effect in thin metallic films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bažant, Zdeněk P.; Guo, Zaoyang; Espinosa, Horacio D.; Zhu, Yong; Peng, Bei

2005-04-01

It is shown that the size effect recently observed by Espinosa et al., [J. Mech. Phys. Solids51, 47 (2003)] in pure tension tests on free thin metallic films can be explained by the existence of a boundary layer of fixed thickness, located at the surface of the film that was attached onto the substrate during deposition. The boundary layer is influenced by the epitaxial effects of crystal growth on the dislocation density and texture (manifested by prevalent crystal plane orientations). This influence is assumed to cause significantly elevated yield strength. Furthermore, the observed gradual postpeak softening, along with its size independence, which is observed in short film strips subjected to pure tension, is explained by slip localization, originating at notch-like defects, and by damage, which can propagate in a stable manner when the film strip under pure tension is sufficiently thin and short. For general applications, the present epitaxially influenced boundary layer model may be combined with the classical strain-gradient plasticity proposed by Gao et al., [J. Mech. Phys. Solids 47, 1239 (1999)], and it is shown that this combination is necessary to fit the test data on both pure tension and bending of thin films by one and the same theory. To deal with films having different crystal grain sizes, the Hall-Petch relation for the yield strength dependence on the grain size needs to be incorporated into the combined theory. For very thin films, in which a flattened grain fills the whole film thickness, the Hall-Petch relation needs a cutoff, and the asymptotic increase of yield strength with diminishing film thickness is then described by the extension of Nix's model of misfit dislocations by Zhang and Zhou [J. Adv. Mater. 38, 51 (2002)]. The final result is a proposal of a general theory for strength, size effect, hardening, and softening of thin metallic films.

Dislocation substructure of mantle-derived olivine as revealed by selective chemical etching and transmission electron microscopy

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kirby, S.H.; Wegner, M.W.

1978-01-01

Cleaved and mechanically polished surfaces of olivine from peridotite xenoliths from San Carlos, Arizona, were chemically etched using the techniques of Wegner and Christie (1974). Dislocation etch pits are produced on all surface orientations and they tend to be preferentially aligned along the traces of subgrain boundaries, which are approximately parallel to (100), (010), and (001). Shallow channels were also produced on (010) surfaces and represent dislocations near the surface that are etched out along their lengths. The dislocation etch channel loops are often concentric, and emanate from (100) subgrain boundaries, which suggests that dislocation sources are in the boundaries. Data on subgrain misorientation and dislocation line orientation and arguments based on subgrain boundary energy minimization are used to characterize the dislocation structures of the subgrain boundaries. (010) subgrain boundaries are of the twist type, composed of networks of [100] and [001] screw dislocations. Both (100) and (001) subgrain boundaries are tilt walls composed of arrays of edge dislocation with Burgers vectors b=[100] and [001], respectively. The inferred slip systems are {001} ???100???, {100} ???001???, and {010} ???100??? in order of diminishing importance. Exploratory transmission electron microscopy is in accord with these identifications. The flow stresses associated with the development of the subgrain structure are estimated from the densities of free dislocations and from the subgrain dimensions. Inferred stresses range from 35 to 75 bars using the free dislocation densities and 20 to 100 bars using the subgrain sizes. ?? 1978 Springer-Verlag.

Effect of dislocations on the open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current and efficiency of heteroepitaxial indium phosphide solar cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jain, Raj K.; Flood, Dennis J.

1990-01-01

Excellent radiation resistance of indium phosphide solar cells makes them a promising candidate for space power applications, but the present high cost of starting substrates may inhibit their large scale use. Thin film indium phosphide cells grown on Si or GaAs substrates have exhibited low efficiencies, because of the generation and propagation of large number of dislocations. Dislocation densities were calculated and its influence on the open circuit voltage, short circuit current, and efficiency of heteroepitaxial indium phosphide cells was studied using the PC-1D. Dislocations act as predominant recombination centers and are required to be controlled by proper transition layers and improved growth techniques. It is shown that heteroepitaxial grown cells could achieve efficiencies in excess of 18 percent AMO by controlling the number of dislocations. The effect of emitter thickness and surface recombination velocity on the cell performance parameters vs. dislocation density is also studied.

Dislocation related droop in InGaN/GaN light emitting diodes investigated via cathodoluminescence

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pozina, Galia; Ciechonski, Rafal; Bi, Zhaoxia

2015-12-21

Today's energy saving solutions for general illumination rely on efficient white light emitting diodes (LEDs). However, the output efficiency droop experienced in InGaN based LEDs with increasing current injection is a serious limitation factor for future development of bright white LEDs. We show using cathodoluminescence (CL) spatial mapping at different electron beam currents that threading dislocations are active as nonradiative recombination centers only at high injection conditions. At low current, the dislocations are inactive in carrier recombination due to local potentials, but these potentials are screened by carriers at higher injection levels. In CL images, this corresponds to the increasemore » of the dark contrast around dislocations with the injection (excitation) density and can be linked with droop related to the threading dislocations. Our data indicate that reduction of droop in the future efficient white LED can be achieved via a drastic reduction of the dislocation density by using, for example, bulk native substrates.« less

Evolution of stress and microstructure in silicon-doped aluminum gallium nitride thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manning, Ian C.

The present work examines the effects of the Si incorporation on the stress evolution of AlxGa1-xN thin films deposited using metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. Specifically, tensile stress generation was evaluated using an in situ wafer curvature measurement technique, and correlated with the inclination of edge-type threading dislocations observed with transmission electron microscopy (TEM). This microstructural process had been theorized to relax compressive strain with increasing film thickness by expanding the missing planes of atoms associated with the dislocations. Prior work regarded dislocation bending as being the result of an effective climb mechanism. In a preliminary investigation, the accuracy of the model derived to quantify the strain induced by dislocation inclination was tested. The relevant parameters were measured to calculate a theoretical stress gradient, which was compared with the gradient as extract from experimental stress data. The predicted value was found to overestimate the measured value. It was also confirmed during the preliminary investigation that Si incorporation alone was sufficient to initiate dislocation bending. The overestimation of the stress gradient yielded by the prediction of the model was then addressed by exploring the effects of dislocation annihilation and fusion reactions occurring during film growth. Si-doped Al0.42Ga 0.58N layers exhibiting inclined threading dislocations were grown to different thicknesses. The dislocation density at the surface of each sample was then measured using plan-view TEM, and was found to be inversely proportional to the thickness. As the original model assumed a constant dislocation density, applying the correction for its reduction yielded a better prediction of the stress evolution. In an attempt to extend the predictive capabilities of the model beyond the single composition examined above, and to better understand the interaction of Si with the host AlxGa1-xN lattice, several sets of AlxGa1-xN films were grown, each with a unique composition. The Si doping level was varied within each set. It was determined that the dominant influence on tensile strain generation is in fact the initial dislocation density, which increased with increasing Al content as observed with plan-view TEM. This was expounded in a series of modeling examples. In addition, threading dislocation inclination was studied in nominally undoped and Si-doped Al xGa1-xN grown under conditions of tensile stress to isolate the influence of Si from that of compressive stress, which had also been found to induce dislocation bending. The effects due to Si and compressive stress were found not to combine as expected, based on a stochastic model of dislocation jog formation that had been developed in prior work to describe the inclination mechanism. Having confirmed the strong, direct relationship between the initial dislocation density and the degree of tensile stress generated in the Al xGa1-xN epilayers during growth, an effort was made to demonstrate the advantage that might be gained by using AlN substrates rather than SiC. In principle, AlN provides a growth surface that inhibits defect formation due to its close similarity to AlxGa1-xN lattice structure and chemistry, particularly at high Al mole fractions. Threading dislocation densities were reduced by an order of magnitude in comparison with samples grown on SiC, with a corresponding reduction in the stress gradient arising from dislocation inclination. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Effect of Temper Condition on Stress Relaxation Behavior of an Aluminum Copper Lithium Alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mishra, Sumeet; Beura, Vikrant Kumar; Singh, Amit; Yadava, Manasij; Nayan, Niraj

2018-07-01

Deformation behavior of an Al-Cu-Li alloy in different temper conditions (solutionized and T8) is investigated using stress relaxation tests. Fundamental parameters such as the apparent and physical activation volume, strain rate sensitivity, effective stress, and exhaustion rate of mobile dislocation density are determined from single and multiple relaxation tests. It was found that dislocation-dislocation interaction controls the kinetics of plastic deformation in the solutionized sample, whereas dislocation-precipitate interaction is the overriding factor in the presence of T1 precipitates. The apparent activation volume was found to be significantly lower in the presence of T1 precipitates compared with solutionized samples. Strain rate sensitivity and effective stress were found to be higher in the presence of T1 precipitates. In addition, multiple relaxation tests showed that irrespective of microstructural features (solutes, semi-coherent precipitates), the mobile dislocation density reduces during the relaxation period. Further evidence regarding reduction in mobile dislocation density is obtained from uniaxial tensile tests carried out after stress relaxation tests, where both solutionized and T8 samples show an increase in strength. Additional discussion on relaxation strain is included to provide a complete overview regarding the time-dependent deformation behavior of the Al-Cu-Li alloy in different temper conditions.

Effect of Temper Condition on Stress Relaxation Behavior of an Aluminum Copper Lithium Alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mishra, Sumeet; Beura, Vikrant Kumar; Singh, Amit; Yadava, Manasij; Nayan, Niraj

2018-04-01

Deformation behavior of an Al-Cu-Li alloy in different temper conditions (solutionized and T8) is investigated using stress relaxation tests. Fundamental parameters such as the apparent and physical activation volume, strain rate sensitivity, effective stress, and exhaustion rate of mobile dislocation density are determined from single and multiple relaxation tests. It was found that dislocation-dislocation interaction controls the kinetics of plastic deformation in the solutionized sample, whereas dislocation-precipitate interaction is the overriding factor in the presence of T1 precipitates. The apparent activation volume was found to be significantly lower in the presence of T1 precipitates compared with solutionized samples. Strain rate sensitivity and effective stress were found to be higher in the presence of T1 precipitates. In addition, multiple relaxation tests showed that irrespective of microstructural features (solutes, semi-coherent precipitates), the mobile dislocation density reduces during the relaxation period. Further evidence regarding reduction in mobile dislocation density is obtained from uniaxial tensile tests carried out after stress relaxation tests, where both solutionized and T8 samples show an increase in strength. Additional discussion on relaxation strain is included to provide a complete overview regarding the time-dependent deformation behavior of the Al-Cu-Li alloy in different temper conditions.

Low dislocation density InAlN/AlN/GaN heterostructures grown on GaN substrates and the effects on gate leakage characteristics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kotani, Junji, E-mail: kotani.junji-01@jp.fujitsu.com; Yamada, Atsushi; Ishiguro, Tetsuro

2016-04-11

This paper reports on the electrical characterization of Ni/Au Schottky diodes fabricated on InAlN high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) structures grown on low dislocation density free-standing GaN substrates. InAlN HEMT structures were grown on sapphire and GaN substrates by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy, and the effects of threading dislocation density on the leakage characteristics of Ni/Au Schottky diodes were investigated. Threading dislocation densities were determined to be 1.8 × 10{sup 4 }cm{sup −2} and 1.2 × 10{sup 9 }cm{sup −2} by the cathodoluminescence measurement for the HEMT structures grown on GaN and sapphire substrates, respectively. Leakage characteristics of Ni/Au Schottky diodes were compared between the two samples, andmore » a reduction of the leakage current of about three to four orders of magnitude was observed in the forward bias region. For the high reverse bias region, however, no significant improvement was confirmed. We believe that the leakage current in the low bias region is governed by a dislocation-related Frenkel–Poole emission, and the leakage current in the high reverse bias region originates from field emission due to the large internal electric field in the InAlN barrier layer. Our results demonstrated that the reduction of dislocation density is effective in reducing leakage current in the low bias region. At the same time, it was also revealed that another approach will be needed, for instance, band modulation by impurity doping and insertion of insulating layers beneath the gate electrodes for a substantial reduction of the gate leakage current.« less

High-power AlGaInN lasers for Blu-ray disc system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takeya, Motonubu; Ikeda, Shinroh; Sasaki, Tomomi; Fujimoto, Tsuyoshi; Ohfuji, Yoshio; Mizuno, Takashi; Oikawa, Kenji; Yabuki, Yoshifumi; Uchida, Shiro; Ikeda, Masao

2003-07-01

This paper describes an improved laser structure for AlGaInN based blue-violet lasers (BV-LDs). The design realizes a small beam divergence angle perpendicular to the junction plane and high characteristic temperature wihtout significant increase in threshold current density (Jth) by optimizing the position of the Mg-doped layer and introducing an undoped AlGaN layer between the active layer and the Mg-doped electron-blocking layer. The mean time to failure (MTTF) of devices based on this design was found to be closely related to the dislocation density of ELO-GaN basal layer. Under 50 mW CW operation at 70°C, a MTTF of over 5000 h was realized whenthe dark spot density (indicative of dislocation density) is less than ~5×106 cm-2. Power consumption under 50mW CW operation at 70°C was approximately 0.33 W, independent of the dislocation density.

Continuum dislocation-density based models for the dynamic shock response of single-crystal and polycrystalline materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luscher, Darby

2017-06-01

The dynamic thermomechanical responses of polycrystalline materials under shock loading are often dominated by the interaction of defects and interfaces. For example, polymer-bonded explosives (PBX) can initiate under weak shock impacts whose energy, if distributed homogeneously throughout the material, translates to temperature increases that are insufficient to drive the rapid chemistry observed. In such cases, heterogeneous thermomechanical interactions at the mesoscale (i.e. between single-crystal and macroscale) lead to the formation of localized hot spots. Within metals, a prescribed deformation associated with a shock wave may be accommodated by crystallographic slip, provided a sufficient population of mobile dislocations is available. However, if the deformation rate is large enough, there may be an insufficient number of freely mobile dislocations. In these cases, additional dislocations may be nucleated, or alternate mechanisms (e.g. twinning, damage) activated in order to accommodate the deformation. Direct numerical simulation at the mesoscale offers insight into these physical processes that can be invaluable to the development of macroscale constitutive theories, if the mesoscale models adequately represent the anisotropic nonlinear thermomechanical response of individual crystals and their interfaces. This talk will briefly outline a continuum mesoscale modeling framework founded upon local and nonlocal variations of dislocation-density based crystal plasticity theory. The nonlocal theory couples continuum dislocation transport with the local theory. In the latter, dislocation transport is modeled by enforcing dislocation conservation at a slip-system level through the solution of advection-diffusion equations. The configuration of geometrically necessary dislocation density gives rise to a back-stress that inhibits or accentuates the flow of dislocations. Development of the local theory and application to modeling the explosive molecular crystal RDX and polycrystalline PBX will be discussed. The talk will also emphasize recent implementation of the coupled nonlocal model into a 3D shock hydrocode and simulation results for the dynamic response of polycrystalline copper in two and three dimensions.

Computational analysis of heat transfer, thermal stress and dislocation density during resistively Czochralski growth of germanium single crystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tavakoli, Mohammad Hossein; Renani, Elahe Kabiri; Honarmandnia, Mohtaram; Ezheiyan, Mahdi

2018-02-01

In this paper, a set of numerical simulations of fluid flow, temperature gradient, thermal stress and dislocation density for a Czochralski setup used to grow IR optical-grade Ge single crystal have been done for different stages of the growth process. A two-dimensional steady state finite element method has been applied for all calculations. The obtained numerical results reveal that the thermal field, thermal stress and dislocation structure are mainly dependent on the crystal height, heat radiation and gas flow in the growth system.

Numerical analysis of thermal stress and dislocation density distributions in large size multi-crystalline silicon ingots during the seeded growth process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, Thi Hoai Thu; Chen, Jyh-Chen; Hu, Chieh; Chen, Chun-Hung; Huang, Yen-Hao; Lin, Huang-Wei; Yu, Andy; Hsu, Bruce

2017-06-01

In this study, a global transient numerical simulation of silicon growth from the beginning of the solidification process until the end of the cooling process is carried out modeling the growth of an 800 kg ingot in an industrial seeded directional solidification furnace. The standard furnace is modified by the addition of insulating blocks in the hot zone. The simulation results show that there is a significant decrease in the thermal stress and dislocation density in the modified model as compared to the standard one (a maximal decrease of 23% and 75% along the center line of ingot for thermal stress and dislocation density, respectively). This modification reduces the heating power consumption for solidification of the silicon melt by about 17% and shortens the growth time by about 2.5 h. Moreover, it is found that adjusting the operating conditions of modified model to obtain the lower growth rate during the early stages of the solidification process can lower dislocation density and total heater power.

High quality InP-on-Si for solar cell applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shellenbarger, Zane A.; Goodwin, Thomas A.; Collins, Sandra R.; Dinetta, Louis C.

1994-01-01

InP on Si solar cells combine the low-cost and high-strength of Si with the high efficiency and radiation tolerance of InP. The main obstacle in the growth of single crystal InP-on-Si is the high residual strain and high dislocation density of the heteroepitaxial InP films. The dislocations result from the large differences in lattice constant and thermal expansion mismatch of InP and Si. Adjusting the size and geometry of the growth area is one possible method of addressing this problem. In this work, we conducted a material quality study of liquid phase epitaxy overgrowth layers on selective area InP grown by a proprietary vapor phase epitaxy technique on Si. The relationship between growth area and dislocation density was quantified using etch pit density measurements. Material quality of the InP on Si improved both with reduced growth area and increased aspect ratio (length/width) of the selective area. Areas with etch pit density as low as 1.6 x 10(exp 4) sq cm were obtained. Assuming dislocation density is an order of magnitude greater than etch pit density, solar cells made with this material could achieve the maximum theoretical efficiency of 23% at AMO. Etch pit density dependence on the orientation of the selective areas on the substrate was also studied.

Characterization of Dislocations in Semiconductor Heterostructures Using X-ray Rocking Curve Pendellösung

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Althowibi, Fahad A.; Ayers, John E.

2018-02-01

In this work we investigated the dislocation-dependent behavior of Pendellösung fringes from two types of semiconductor heterostructures: a uniform-composition InGaAs epitaxial layer grown on a GaAs (001) substrate with an intermediate step-graded InGaAs buffer, and an InGaAs/InAlAs high electron mobility transistor grown on an InP (001) substrate. Dynamical x-ray diffraction simulations were carried out in the 004, 115,135, and 117 geometry, assuming Cu kα1 incident radiation, for both structures. The dislocation density strongly affects the intensities and widths of Pendellösung fringes, and we have established quantitative relationships which will allow characterization of the dislocation density.

TEM study of 〈110〉-type 35.26° dislocations specially induced by polishing of SrTiO₃ single crystals.

PubMed

Jin, L; Guo, X; Jia, C L

2013-11-01

The dislocations created by mechanical polishing of SrTiO₃ (100) single crystals were investigated by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques combined with scanning TEM (STEM) techniques. A high density of dislocations was observed in the surface layer with a thickness of about 5 μm. These dislocations were found to be straight and highly aligned along the 〈111〉 directions. In most cases they appear in pairs or as a bundle. The nature of the dislocations was determined as mixed 〈110〉-type with the line vector t=〈111〉. They are 〈110〉-type 35.26° dislocations. The isolated 〈110〉-type 35.26° dislocations possess a compact core structure with a core spreading of ~0.5 nm. Dissociation of the dislocation occurs on the {1−10} glide plane, leading to the formation of two b=a/2〈110〉 partials separated by a stacking fault. The separation of the two partials was estimated to be 2.53 ± 0.32 nm based on a cross-correlation analysis of atomic-resolution images. Our results provide a solid experimental evidence for this special type of dislocation in SrTiO₃. The high density of straight and highly 〈111〉-orientated dislocations is expected to have an important influence on the anisotropy in electrical and mass transport properties. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Strain relaxation of thin Si{sub 0.6}Ge{sub 0.4} grown with low-temperature buffers by molecular beam epitaxy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhao, M.; Hansson, G. V.; Ni, W.-X.

A double-low-temperature-buffer variable-temperature growth scheme was studied for fabrication of strain-relaxed thin Si{sub 0.6}Ge{sub 0.4} layer on Si(001) by using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), with particular focuses on the influence of growth temperature of individual low-temperature-buffer layers on the relaxation process and final structural qualities. The low-temperature buffers consisted of a 40 nm Si layer grown at an optimized temperature of {approx}400 deg. C, followed by a 20 nm Si{sub 0.6}Ge{sub 0.4} layer grown at temperatures ranging from 50 to 550 deg. C. A significant relaxation increase together with a surface roughness decrease both by a factor of {approx}2, accompaniedmore » with the cross-hatch/cross-hatch-free surface morphology transition, took place for the sample containing a low-temperature Si{sub 0.6}Ge{sub 0.4} layer that was grown at {approx}200 deg. C. This dramatic change was explained by the association with a certain onset stage of the ordered/disordered growth transition during the low-temperature MBE, where the high density of misfit dislocation segments generated near surface cusps largely facilitated the strain relaxation of the top Si{sub 0.6}Ge{sub 0.4} layer.« less

The relationship between strain geometry and geometrically necessary dislocations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hansen, Lars; Wallis, David

2016-04-01

The kinematics of past deformations are often a primary goal in structural analyses of strained rocks. Details of the strain geometry, in particular, can help distinguish hypotheses about large-scale tectonic phenomena. Microstructural indicators of strain geometry have been heavily utilized to investigate large-scale kinematics. However, many of the existing techniques require structures for which the initial morphology is known, and those structures must undergo the same deformation as imposed macroscopically. Many deformed rocks do not exhibit such convenient features, and therefore the strain geometry is often difficult (if not impossible) to ascertain. Alternatively, crystallographic textures contain information about the strain geometry, but the influence of strain geometry can be difficult to separate from other environmental factors that might affect slip system activity and therefore the textural evolution. Here we explore the ability for geometrically necessary dislocations to record information about the deformation geometry. It is well known that crystallographic slip due to the motion of dislocations yields macroscopic plastic strain, and the mathematics are established to relate dislocation glide on multiple slip systems to the strain tensor of a crystal. This theoretical description generally assumes that dislocations propagate across the entire crystal. However, at any point during the deformation, dislocations are present that have not fully transected the crystal, existing either as free dislocations or as dislocations organized into substructures like subgrain boundaries. These dislocations can remain in the lattice after deformation if the crystal is quenched sufficiently fast, and we hypothesize that this residual dislocation population can be linked to the plastic strain geometry in a quantitative manner. To test this hypothesis, we use high-resolution electron backscatter diffraction to measure lattice curvatures in experimentally deformed single crystals and aggregates of olivine for which the strain geometry is known. Tested geometries include constrictional strain, flattening strain, and plane strain. We use measured lattice curvatures to calculate the densities and spatial distributions of geometrically necessary dislocations. Dislocation densities are calculated for each of the major dislocation types in olivine. These densities are then used to estimate the plastic strain geometry under the assumption that the population of geometrically necessary dislocations accurately represents the relative activity of different dislocations during deformation. Our initial results demonstrate compelling relationships between the imposed strain geometry and the calculated plastic strain geometry. In addition, the calculated plastic strain geometry is linked to the distribution of crystallographic orientations, giving insight into the nature of plastic anisotropy in textured olivine aggregates. We present this technique as a new microstructural tool for assessing the kinematic history of deformed rocks.

Studies of morphological instability and defect formation in heteroepitaxial Si(1-x)Ge(x) thin films via controlled annealing experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ozkan, Cengiz Sinan

Strained layer semiconductor structures provide possibilities for novel electronic devices. When a semiconductor layer is deposited epitaxially onto a single crystal substrate with the same structure but a slightly different lattice parameter, the semiconductor layer grows commensurately with a misfit strain that can be accommodated elastically below a critical thickness. When the critical thickness is exceeded, the elastic strain energy builds up to a point where it becomes energetically favorable to form misfit dislocations. In addition, in the absence of a capping layer, Sisb{1-x}Gesb{x} films exhibit surface roughening via surface diffusion under the effect of a compressive stress which is caused by a lattice mismatch. Surface roughening takes place in the form of ridges aligned along {<}100{>} or {<}110{>} directions depending on the film thickness and the rate of strain relief. Recent work has shown that surface roughening makes a very significant contribution to strain relaxation in heteroepitaxial thin films. At sharp valley regions on the surface, amplified local stresses can cause further defect nucleation and propagation, such as stacking faults and 90sp° dislocations. In addition, capping layers with suitable thickness will surpress surface roughening and keep most of the strain in the film. We study surface roughening and defect formation by conducting controlled annealing experiments on initially flat and defect free films grown by LPCVD in a hydrogen ambient. We study films with both subcritical and supercritical thicknesses. In addition, we compare the relaxation behaviour of capped and uncapped films where surface roughening was inhibited in films with a capping layer. TEM and AFM studies were conducted to study the morphology and microstructure of these films. X-ray diffraction measurements were made to determine the amount of strain relaxation in these films. Further studies of surface roughening on heteroepitaxial films under a positive biaxial stress have shown that, morphological evolution occurs regardless of the sign of stress in the film. Finally, we have studied surface roughening processes in real time by conducting in-situ TEM experiments. We have observed that the kinetics of roughening depend strongly on the annealing ambient.

Interaction of 〈1 0 0〉 dislocation loops with dislocations studied by dislocation dynamics in α-iron

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, X. J.; Dupuy, L.; Devincre, B.; Terentyev, D.; Vincent, L.

2015-05-01

Interstitial dislocation loops with Burgers vector of 〈1 0 0〉 type are formed in α-iron under neutron or heavy ion irradiation. As the density and size of these loops increase with radiation dose and temperature, these defects are thought to play a key role in hardening and subsequent embrittlement of iron-based steels. The aim of the present work is to study the pinning strength of the loops on mobile dislocations. Prior to run massive Dislocation Dynamics (DD) simulations involving experimentally representative array of radiation defects and dislocations, the DD code and its parameterization are validated by comparing the individual loop-dislocation reactions with those obtained from direct atomistic Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations. Several loop-dislocation reaction mechanisms are successfully reproduced as well as the values of the unpinning stress to detach mobile dislocations from the defects.

Dislocation Reduction and Stress Relaxation of GaN and InGaN Multiple Quantum Wells with Improved Performance via Serpentine Channel Patterned Mask.

PubMed

Ji, Qingbin; Li, Lei; Zhang, Wei; Wang, Jia; Liu, Peichi; Xie, Yahong; Yan, Tongxing; Yang, Wei; Chen, Weihua; Hu, Xiaodong

2016-08-24

The existence of high threading dislocation density (TDD) in GaN-based epilayers is a long unsolved problem, which hinders further applications of defect-sensitive GaN-based devices. Multiple-modulation of epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELOG) is used to achieve high-quality GaN template on a novel serpentine channel patterned sapphire substrate (SCPSS). The dislocation blocking brought by the serpentine channel patterned mask, coupled with repeated dislocation bending, can reduce the dislocation density to a yet-to-be-optimized level of ∼2 × 10(5) to 2 × 10(6) cm(-2). About 80% area utilization rate of GaN with low TDD and stress relaxation is obtained. The periodical variations of dislocation density, optical properties and residual stress in GaN-based epilayers on SCPSS are analyzed. The quantum efficiency of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) on it can be increased by 52% compared with the conventional sapphire substrate. The reduced nonradiative recombination centers, the enhanced carrier localization, and the suppressed quantum confined Stark effect, are the main determinants of improved luminous performance in MQWs on SCPSS. This developed ELOG on serpentine shaped mask needs no interruption and regrowth, which can be a promising candidate for the heteroepitaxy of semipolar/nonpolar GaN and GaAs with high quality.

Effect of copper on the recombination activity of extended defects in silicon

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Feklisova, O. V., E-mail: feklisov@iptm.ru; Yakimov, E. B.

2015-06-15

The effect of copper atoms introduced by high-temperature diffusion on the recombination properties of dislocations and dislocation trails in p-type single-crystal silicon is studied by the electron-beam-induced current technique. It is shown that, in contrast to dislocations, dislocation trails exhibit an increase in recombination activity after the introduction of copper. Bright contrast appearance in the vicinity of dislocation trails is detected after the diffusion of copper and quenching of the samples. The contrast depends on the defect density in these trails.

Optimization of hetero-epitaxial growth for the threading dislocation density reduction of germanium epilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chong, Haining; Wang, Zhewei; Chen, Chaonan; Xu, Zemin; Wu, Ke; Wu, Lan; Xu, Bo; Ye, Hui

2018-04-01

In order to suppress dislocation generation, we develop a "three-step growth" method to heteroepitaxy low dislocation density germanium (Ge) layers on silicon with the MBE process. The method is composed of 3 growth steps: low temperature (LT) seed layer, LT-HT intermediate layer as well as high temperature (HT) epilayer, successively. Threading dislocation density (TDD) of epitaxial Ge layers is measured as low as 1.4 × 106 cm-2 by optimizing the growth parameters. The results of Raman spectrum showed that the internal strain of heteroepitaxial Ge layers is tensile and homogeneous. During the growth of LT-HT intermediate layer, TDD reduction can be obtained by lowering the temperature ramping rate, and high rate deposition maintains smooth surface morphology in Ge epilayer. A mechanism based on thermodynamics is used to explain the TDD and surface morphological dependence on temperature ramping rate and deposition rate. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the Ge layer obtained can provide an excellent platform for III-V materials integrated on Si.

High purity, low dislocation GaAs single crystals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, R. T.; Holmes, D. E.; Kirkpatrick, C. G.

1983-01-01

Liquid encapsulated Czochralski crystal growth techniques for producing undoped, high resistivity, low dislocation material suitable for device applications is described. Technique development resulted in reduction of dislocation densities in 3 inch GaAs crystals. Control over the melt stoichiometry was determined to be of critical importance for the reduction of twinning and polycrystallinity during growth.

Supersonic Dislocation Bursts in Silicon

DOE PAGES

Hahn, E. N.; Zhao, S.; Bringa, E. M.; ...

2016-06-06

Dislocations are the primary agents of permanent deformation in crystalline solids. Since the theoretical prediction of supersonic dislocations over half a century ago, there is a dearth of experimental evidence supporting their existence. Here we use non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations of shocked silicon to reveal transient supersonic partial dislocation motion at approximately 15 km/s, faster than any previous in-silico observation. Homogeneous dislocation nucleation occurs near the shock front and supersonic dislocation motion lasts just fractions of picoseconds before the dislocations catch the shock front and decelerate back to the elastic wave speed. Applying a modified analytical equation for dislocation evolutionmore » we successfully predict a dislocation density of 1.5 x 10(12) cm(-2) within the shocked volume, in agreement with the present simulations and realistic in regards to prior and on-going recovery experiments in silicon.« less

Supersonic Dislocation Bursts in Silicon

PubMed Central

Hahn, E. N.; Zhao, S.; Bringa, E. M.; Meyers, M. A.

2016-01-01

Dislocations are the primary agents of permanent deformation in crystalline solids. Since the theoretical prediction of supersonic dislocations over half a century ago, there is a dearth of experimental evidence supporting their existence. Here we use non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations of shocked silicon to reveal transient supersonic partial dislocation motion at approximately 15 km/s, faster than any previous in-silico observation. Homogeneous dislocation nucleation occurs near the shock front and supersonic dislocation motion lasts just fractions of picoseconds before the dislocations catch the shock front and decelerate back to the elastic wave speed. Applying a modified analytical equation for dislocation evolution we successfully predict a dislocation density of 1.5 × 1012 cm−2 within the shocked volume, in agreement with the present simulations and realistic in regards to prior and on-going recovery experiments in silicon. PMID:27264746

Supersonic Dislocation Bursts in Silicon

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hahn, E. N.; Zhao, S.; Bringa, E. M.

Dislocations are the primary agents of permanent deformation in crystalline solids. Since the theoretical prediction of supersonic dislocations over half a century ago, there is a dearth of experimental evidence supporting their existence. Here we use non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations of shocked silicon to reveal transient supersonic partial dislocation motion at approximately 15 km/s, faster than any previous in-silico observation. Homogeneous dislocation nucleation occurs near the shock front and supersonic dislocation motion lasts just fractions of picoseconds before the dislocations catch the shock front and decelerate back to the elastic wave speed. Applying a modified analytical equation for dislocation evolutionmore » we successfully predict a dislocation density of 1.5 x 10(12) cm(-2) within the shocked volume, in agreement with the present simulations and realistic in regards to prior and on-going recovery experiments in silicon.« less

The equivalence between dislocation pile-ups and cracks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, H. W.; Gao, Q.

1990-01-01

Cracks and dislocation pile-ups are equivalent to each other. In this paper, the physical equivalence between cracks and pile-ups is delineated, and the relationshps between crack-extension force, force on the leading dislocation, stress-intensity factor, and dislocation density are reviewed and summarized. These relations make it possible to extend quantitatively the recent advances in the concepts and practices of fracture mechanics to the studies of microfractures and microplastic deformations.

AFM study of the plastic deformation behavior of poly-synthetically-twinned (PST) titanium aluminide crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yali

The plastic deformation behavior of PST TiAl crystals was investigated using AFM techniques to reveal the effects of lamellar structure on the deform mechanisms of two-phase TiAl materials. PST crystals with a nominal composition of Ti52Al48 (atomic percent) were grown by the floating zone method and at various orientations deformed in compression at room temperature. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) was employed to investigate the deformation structure on the free surfaces. The deformation of the PST crystals is highly anisotropic and the deformation mechanism changes dramatically with sample orientation. When the angle between the loading axis and the lamellar interfaces is below 20°, the gamma lamellae deform by dislocation slip and twinning on planes oblique to the lamellar interfaces, but the Burgers vectors or the resultant shear vectors are parallel to the lamellar interfaces inside each lamella. When the angle is between 20° and 80° the gamma phase deforms by shear on planes parallel to the lamellar interfaces. Some domains deform by a combination of ordinary dislocation slip and twinning. In the domains where twinning cannot be activated, slip occurs by ordinary dislocations or superdislocations. When the loading axis is nearly perpendicular to the lamellar interfaces ordinary dislocation slip and twinning on slip planes inclined with the lamellar interfaces are dominant and the shear is trans-lamellar. The three deformation modes are termed as A, B and N type deformation modes respectively. In the A type mode the alpha2 lamellae concomitantly deform by prismatic slip. In the other two modes, the alpha2 phase does not deform and acts as strong obstacles to the transfer of deformation. Abundant misfit dislocations are emitted from the lamellar interfaces which is beneficial for the plastic deformation. On the other hand, the lamellar interfaces strongly impede trans-lamellar deformation and channel the deformation inside each lamella. The inhomogeneous coherency stresses at the lamellar interfaces also lead to heterogeneous deformation of PST crystals. The deformation behavior of the lamellar grains produces remarkable strain incompatibility in lamellar polycrystals and deteriorates the deformability.

Single-crystal sapphire microstructure for high-resolution synchrotron X-ray monochromators

DOE PAGES

Asadchikov, Victor E.; Butashin, Andrey V.; Buzmakov, Alexey V.; ...

2016-03-22

We report on the growth and characterization of several sapphire single crystals for the purpose of x-ray optics applications. Structural defects were studied by means of laboratory double-crystal X-ray diffractometry and white beam synchrotron-radiation topography. The investigations confirmed that the main defect types are dislocations. The best quality crystal was grown using the Kyropoulos technique with a dislocation density of 10 2-10 3 cm -2 and a small area with approximately 2*2 mm 2 did not show dislocation contrast in many reflections and has suitable quality for application as a backscattering monochromator. As a result, a clear correlation between growthmore » rate and dislocation density is observed, though growth rate is not the only parameter impacting the quality.« less

Gradient Plasticity Model and its Implementation into MARMOT

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Barker, Erin I.; Li, Dongsheng; Zbib, Hussein M.

2013-08-01

The influence of strain gradient on deformation behavior of nuclear structural materials, such as boby centered cubic (bcc) iron alloys has been investigated. We have developed and implemented a dislocation based strain gradient crystal plasticity material model. A mesoscale crystal plasticity model for inelastic deformation of metallic material, bcc steel, has been developed and implemented numerically. Continuum Dislocation Dynamics (CDD) with a novel constitutive law based on dislocation density evolution mechanisms was developed to investigate the deformation behaviors of single crystals, as well as polycrystalline materials by coupling CDD and crystal plasticity (CP). The dislocation density evolution law in thismore » model is mechanism-based, with parameters measured from experiments or simulated with lower-length scale models, not an empirical law with parameters back-fitted from the flow curves.« less

Using Adjoint Methods to Improve 3-D Velocity Models of Southern California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Q.; Tape, C.; Maggi, A.; Tromp, J.

2006-12-01

We use adjoint methods popular in climate and ocean dynamics to calculate Fréchet derivatives for tomographic inversions in southern California. The Fréchet derivative of an objective function χ(m), where m denotes the Earth model, may be written in the generic form δχ=int Km(x) δln m(x) d3x, where δln m=δ m/m denotes the relative model perturbation. For illustrative purposes, we construct the 3-D finite-frequency banana-doughnut kernel Km, corresponding to the misfit of a single traveltime measurement, by simultaneously computing the 'adjoint' wave field s† forward in time and reconstructing the regular wave field s backward in time. The adjoint wave field is produced by using the time-reversed velocity at the receiver as a fictitious source, while the regular wave field is reconstructed on the fly by propagating the last frame of the wave field saved by a previous forward simulation backward in time. The approach is based upon the spectral-element method, and only two simulations are needed to produce density, shear-wave, and compressional-wave sensitivity kernels. This method is applied to the SCEC southern California velocity model. Various density, shear-wave, and compressional-wave sensitivity kernels are presented for different phases in the seismograms. We also generate 'event' kernels for Pnl, S and surface waves, which are the Fréchet kernels of misfit functions that measure the P, S or surface wave traveltime residuals at all the receivers simultaneously for one particular event. Effectively, an event kernel is a sum of weighted Fréchet kernels, with weights determined by the associated traveltime anomalies. By the nature of the 3-D simulation, every event kernel is also computed based upon just two simulations, i.e., its construction costs the same amount of computation time as an individual banana-doughnut kernel. One can think of the sum of the event kernels for all available earthquakes, called the 'misfit' kernel, as a graphical representation of the gradient of the misfit function. With the capability of computing both the value of the misfit function and its gradient, which assimilates the traveltime anomalies, we are ready to use a non-linear conjugate gradient algorithm to iteratively improve velocity models of southern California.

Enhancing elastic stress relaxation in SiGe/Si heterostructures by Si pillar necking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Isa, F.; Salvalaglio, M.; Arroyo Rojas Dasilva, Y.; Jung, A.; Isella, G.; Erni, R.; Timotijevic, B.; Niedermann, P.; Gröning, P.; Montalenti, F.; von Känel, H.

2016-10-01

We demonstrate that the elastic stress relaxation mechanism in micrometre-sized, highly mismatched heterostructures may be enhanced by employing patterned substrates in the form of necked pillars, resulting in a significant reduction of the dislocation density. Compositionally graded Si1-xGex crystals were grown by low energy plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition, resulting in tens of micrometres tall, three-dimensional heterostructures. The patterned Si(001) substrates consist of micrometre-sized Si pillars either with the vertical {110} or isotropically under-etched sidewalls resulting in narrow necks. The structural properties of these heterostructures were investigated by defect etching and transmission electron microscopy. We show that the dislocation density, and hence the competition between elastic and plastic stress relaxation, is highly influenced by the shape of the substrate necks and their proximity to the mismatched epitaxial material. The SiGe dislocation density increases monotonically with the crystal width but is significantly reduced by the substrate under-etching. The drop in dislocation density is interpreted as a direct effect of the enhanced compliance of the under-etched Si pillars, as confirmed by the three-dimensional finite element method simulations of the elastic energy distribution.

Metal viscoplasticity with two-temperature thermodynamics and two dislocation densities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roy Chowdhury, Shubhankar; Kar, Gurudas; Roy, Debasish; Reddy, J. N.

2018-03-01

Posed within the two-temperature theory of non-equilibrium thermodynamics, we propose a model for thermoviscoplastic deformation in metals. We incorporate the dynamics of dislocation densities-mobile and forest—that play the role of internal state variables in the formulation. The description based on two temperatures appears naturally when one recognizes that the thermodynamic system undergoing viscoplastic deformation is composed of two weakly interacting subsystems, viz. a kinetic-vibrational subsystem of the vibrating atomic lattices and a configurational subsystem of the slower degrees of freedom relating to defect motion, each with its own temperature. Starting with a basic model that involves only homogeneous deformation, a three-dimensional model for inhomogeneous viscoplasticity applicable to finite deformation is charted out in an overstress driven viscoplastic deformation framework. The model shows how the coupled evolutions of mobile and forest dislocation densities, which are critically influenced by the dynamics of configurational temperature, govern the strength and ductility of the metal. Unlike most contemporary models, the current proposal also affords a prediction of certain finer details as observed in the experimental data on stress-strain behaviour of metals and this in turn enhances the understanding of the evolving and interacting dislocation densities.

High-throughput density functional calculations to optimize properties and interfacial chemistry of piezoelectric materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barr, Jordan A.; Lin, Fang-Yin; Ashton, Michael; Hennig, Richard G.; Sinnott, Susan B.

2018-02-01

High-throughput density functional theory calculations are conducted to search through 1572 A B O3 compounds to find a potential replacement material for lead zirconate titanate (PZT) that exhibits the same excellent piezoelectric properties as PZT and lacks both its use of the toxic element lead (Pb) and the formation of secondary alloy phases with platinum (Pt) electrodes. The first screening criterion employed a search through the Materials Project database to find A -B combinations that do not form ternary compounds with Pt. The second screening criterion aimed to eliminate potential candidates through first-principles calculations of their electronic structure, in which compounds with a band gap of 0.25 eV or higher were retained. Third, thermodynamic stability calculations were used to compare the candidates in a Pt environment to compounds already calculated to be stable within the Materials Project. Formation energies below or equal to 100 meV/atom were considered to be thermodynamically stable. The fourth screening criterion employed lattice misfit to identify those candidate perovskites that have low misfit with the Pt electrode and high misfit of potential secondary phases that can be formed when Pt alloys with the different A and B components. To aid in the final analysis, dynamic stability calculations were used to determine those perovskites that have dynamic instabilities that favor the ferroelectric distortion. Analysis of the data finds three perovskites warranting further investigation: CsNb O3 , RbNb O3 , and CsTa O3 .

Defect reduction in Si-doped Al{sub 0.45}Ga{sub 0.55}N films by SiN{sub x} interlayer method

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Yang; Chen, Shengchang; Kong, Man

2014-01-28

The dislocation density in AlGaN epitaxial layers with Al content as high as 45% grown on sapphire substrates has been effectively reduced by introducing an in-situ deposited SiN{sub x} nanomask layer in this study. By closely monitoring the evolution of numerous material properties, such as surface morphology, dislocation density, photoluminescence, strain states, and electron mobility of the Si-Al{sub 0.45}Ga{sub 0.55}N layers as the functions of SiN{sub x} interlayer growth time, the surface coverage fraction of SiN{sub x} is found to be a crucial factor determining the strain states and dislocation density. The dependence of the strain states and the dislocationmore » density on the surface coverage fraction of SiN{sub x} nanomask supports the very different growth models of Al-rich AlGaN on SiN{sub x} interlayer due to the reduced nucleation selectivity compared with the GaN counterpart. Compared with GaN, which can only nucleate at open pores of SiN{sub x} nanomask, Al-rich AlGaN can simultaneously nucleate at both open pores and SiN{sub x} covered areas. Dislocations will annihilate at the openings due to the 3D growth initiated on the opening area, while 2D growth mode is preserved on SiN{sub x} and the threading dislocations are also preserved. During the following growth process, lateral overgrowth will proceed from the Al{sub 0.45}Ga{sub 0.55}N islands on the openings towards the regions covered by SiN{sub x}, relaxing the compressive strain and bending the dislocations at the same time.« less

A numerical spectral approach to solve the dislocation density transport equation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Djaka, K. S.; Taupin, V.; Berbenni, S.; Fressengeas, C.

2015-09-01

A numerical spectral approach is developed to solve in a fast, stable and accurate fashion, the quasi-linear hyperbolic transport equation governing the spatio-temporal evolution of the dislocation density tensor in the mechanics of dislocation fields. The approach relies on using the Fast Fourier Transform algorithm. Low-pass spectral filters are employed to control both the high frequency Gibbs oscillations inherent to the Fourier method and the fast-growing numerical instabilities resulting from the hyperbolic nature of the transport equation. The numerical scheme is validated by comparison with an exact solution in the 1D case corresponding to dislocation dipole annihilation. The expansion and annihilation of dislocation loops in 2D and 3D settings are also produced and compared with finite element approximations. The spectral solutions are shown to be stable, more accurate for low Courant numbers and much less computation time-consuming than the finite element technique based on an explicit Galerkin-least squares scheme.

Electrical Current Leakage and Open-Core Threading Dislocations in AlGaN-Based Deep Ultraviolet Light-Emitting Diodes.

DOE PAGES

Moseley, Michael William; Allerman, Andrew A.; Crawford, Mary H.; ...

2014-08-04

Electrical current transport through leakage paths in AlGaN-based deep ultraviolet (DUV) lightemitting diodes (LEDs) and their effect on LED performance are investigated. Open-core threading dislocations, or nanopipes, are found to conduct current through nominally insulating Al0.7Ga0.3N layers and limit the performance of DUV-LEDs. A defect-sensitive phosphoric acid etch reveals these opencore threading dislocations in the form of large, micron-scale hexagonal etch pits visible with optical microscopy, while closed-core screw-, edge-, and mixed-type threading dislocations are represented by smaller and more numerous nanometer-scale pits visible by atomic-force microscopy. The electrical and optical performances of DUV-LEDs fabricated on similar Si-doped Al0.7Ga0.3N templatesmore » are found to have a strong correlation to the density of these nanopipes, despite their small fraction (<0.1% in this study) of the total density of threading dislocations.« less

Control of epitaxial defects for optimal AlGaN/GaN HEMT performance and reliability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Green, D. S.; Gibb, S. R.; Hosse, B.; Vetury, R.; Grider, D. E.; Smart, J. A.

2004-12-01

High-quality GaN epitaxy continues to be challenged by the lack of matched substrates. Threading dislocations that result from heteroepitaxy are responsible for leakage currents, trapping effects, and may adversely affect device reliability. We have studied the impact of AlN nucleation conditions on the density and character of threading dislocations on SiC substrates. Variation of the nucleation temperature, V/III ratio, and thickness are seen to have a dramatic effect on the balance between edge, screw and mixed character dislocation densities. Electrical and structural properties have been assessed by AFM and XRD on a material level and through DC and RF performance at the device level. The ratio between dislocation characteristics has been established primarily through comparison of symmetric and asymmetric XRD rocking curve widths. The effect of each dislocation type on leakage current, RF power and reliability at 2 GHz, the targeted band for cell phone infrastructure applications, is discussed.

High power cascaded mid-infrared InAs/GaSb light emitting diodes on mismatched GaAs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Provence, S. R., E-mail: sydney-provence@uiowa.edu; Ricker, R.; Aytac, Y.

2015-09-28

InAs/GaSb mid-wave, cascaded superlattice light emitting diodes are found to give higher radiance when epitaxially grown on mismatched GaAs substrates compared to lattice-matched GaSb substrates. Peak radiances of 0.69 W/cm{sup 2}-sr and 1.06 W/cm{sup 2}-sr for the 100 × 100 μm{sup 2} GaSb and GaAs-based devices, respectively, were measured at 77 K. Measurement of the recombination coefficients shows the shorter Shockley-Read-Hall recombination lifetime as misfit dislocations for growth on GaAs degrade the quantum efficiency only at low current injection. The improved performance on GaAs was found to be due to the higher transparency and improved thermal properties of the GaAs substrate.

Selective-area growth of GaN nanocolumns on Si(111) substrates for application to nanocolumn emitters with systematic analysis of dislocation filtering effect of nanocolumns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kishino, Katsumi; Ishizawa, Shunsuke

2015-06-01

The growth of highly uniform arrays of GaN nanocolumns with diameters from 122 to 430 nm on Si (111) substrates was demonstrated. The employment of GaN film templates with flat surfaces (root mean square surface roughness of 0.84 nm), which were obtained using an AlN/GaN superlattice (SL) buffer on Si, contributed to the high-quality selective-area growth of nanocolumns using a thin Ti mask of 5 nm thickness by rf-plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Although the GaN template included a large number of dislocations (dislocation density ˜1011 cm-2), the dislocation filtering effect of nanocolumns was enhanced with decreasing nanocolumn diameters (D). Systematic transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation enabled us to explain the dependence of the dislocation propagation behavior in nanocolumns on the nanocolumn diameter for the first time. Plan-view TEM analysis was performed for nanocolumns with D = 120-324 nm by slicing the nanocolumns horizontally at a height of ˜300 nm above their bottoms and dislocation propagation through the nanocolumns was analyzed by the cross-sectional TEM observation of nanocolumns with D ˜ 200 nm. It was clarified that dislocations were effectively filtered in the bottom 300 nm region of the nanocolumns, the dislocation density of the nanocolumns decreased with decreasing D, and for narrow nanocolumns with D < 200 nm, dislocation-free crystals were obtained in the upper part of the nanocolumns. The dramatic improvement in the emission properties of GaN nanocolumns observed with decreasing diameter is discussed in relation to the decreased dislocation density. The laser action of InGaN/GaN-based nanocolumn arrays with a nanocolumn diameter of 170 nm and a period of 200 nm on Si under optical excitation was obtained with an emission wavelength of 407 nm. We also fabricated red-emitting InGaN-based nanocolumn light-emitting diodes on Si that operated at a wavelength of 652 nm, demonstrating vertical conduction through the AlN/GaN SL buffer to the Si substrate.

In-situ NC-AFM measurements of high quality AlN(0001) layers grown at low growth rate on 4H-SiC(0001) and Si(111) substrates using ammonia molecular beam epitaxy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chaumeton, Florian, E-mail: florian.chaumeton@cemes.fr; Gauthier, Sébastien, E-mail: gauthier@cemes.fr; Martrou, David, E-mail: david.martrou@cemes.fr

Nitride wide-band-gap semiconductors are used to make high power electronic devices or efficient light sources. The performance of GaN-based devices is directly linked to the initial AlN buffer layer. During the last twenty years of research on nitride growth, only few information on the AlN surface quality have been obtained, mainly by ex-situ characterization techniques. Thanks to a Non Contact Atomic Force Microscope (NC-AFM) connected under ultra high vacuum (UHV) to a dedicated molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) chamber, the surface of AlN(0001) thin films grown on Si(111) and 4H-SiC(0001) substrates has been characterized. These experiments give access to a quantitativemore » determination of the density of screw and edge dislocations at the surface. The layers were also characterized by ex-situ SEM to observe the largest defects such as relaxation dislocations and hillocks. The influence of the growth parameters (substrate temperature, growth speed, III/V ratio) and of the initial substrate preparation on the dislocation density was also investigated. On Si(111), the large in-plane lattice mismatch with AlN(0001) (19%) induces a high dislocation density ranging from 6 to 12×10{sup 10}/cm{sup 2} depending on the growth conditions. On 4H-SiC(0001) (1% mismatch with AlN(0001)), the dislocation density decreases to less than 10{sup 10}/cm{sup 2}, but hillocks appear, depending on the initial SiC(0001) reconstruction. The use of a very low growth rate of 10 nm/h at the beginning of the growth process allows to decrease the dislocation density below 2 × 10{sup 9}/cm{sup 2}.« less

Heterogeneous dislocation loop formation near grain boundaries in a neutron-irradiated commercial FeCrAl alloy

DOE PAGES

Field, Kevin G.; Briggs, Samuel A.; Hu, Xunxiang; ...

2016-11-01

FeCrAl alloys are an attractive materials class for nuclear power applications due to their increased environmental compatibility over more traditional nuclear materials. Preliminary studies into the radiation tolerance of FeCrAl alloys under accelerated neutron testing between 300-400 °C have shown post-irradiation microstructures containing dislocation loops and Cr-rich ' phase. Although these initial works established the post-irradiation microstructures, little to no focus was applied towards the influence of pre-irradiation microstructures on this response. Here, a well annealed commercial FeCrAl alloy, Alkrothal 720, was neutron irradiated to 1.8 dpa at 382 °C and then the role of random high angle grain boundariesmore » on the spatial distribution and size of dislocation loops, dislocation loops, and black dot damage was analyzed using on-zone scanning transmission electron microscopy. Results showed a clear heterogeneous dislocation loop formation with dislocation loops showing an increased number density and size, black dot damage showing a significant number density decrease, and an increased size of dislocation loops in the vicinity directly adjacent to the grain boundary. Lastly, these results suggest the importance of the pre-irradiation microstructure on the radiation tolerance of FeCrAl alloys.« less

Cyclic deformation leads to defect healing and strengthening of small-volume metal crystals

DOE PAGES

Wang, Zhang-Jie; Li, Qing-Jie; Cui, Yi-Nan; ...

2015-10-19

When microscopic and macroscopic specimens of metals are subjected to cyclic loading, the creation, interaction, and accumulation of defects lead to damage, cracking, and failure. We demonstrate that when aluminum single crystals of submicrometer dimensions are subjected to low-amplitude cyclic deformation at room temperature, the density of preexisting dislocation lines and loops can be dramatically reduced with virtually no change of the overall sample geometry and essentially no permanent plastic strain. Furthermore, this “cyclic healing” of the metal crystal leads to significant strengthening through dramatic reductions in dislocation density, in distinct contrast to conventional cyclic strain hardening mechanisms arising frommore » increases in dislocation density and interactions among defects in microcrystalline and macrocrystalline metals and alloys. Our real-time, in situ transmission electron microscopy observations of tensile tests reveal that pinned dislocation lines undergo shakedown during cyclic straining, with the extent of dislocation unpinning dependent on the amplitude, sequence, and number of strain cycles. Those unpinned mobile dislocations moving close enough to the free surface of the thin specimens as a result of such repeated straining are then further attracted to the surface by image forces that facilitate their egress from the crystal. Our results point to a versatile pathway for controlled mechanical annealing and defect engineering in submicrometer-sized metal crystals, thereby obviating the need for thermal annealing or significant plastic deformation that could cause change in shape and/or dimensions of the specimen.« less

Cyclic deformation leads to defect healing and strengthening of small-volume metal crystals

PubMed Central

Wang, Zhang-Jie; Li, Qing-Jie; Cui, Yi-Nan; Liu, Zhan-Li; Ma, Evan; Li, Ju; Sun, Jun; Zhuang, Zhuo; Dao, Ming; Shan, Zhi-Wei; Suresh, Subra

2015-01-01

When microscopic and macroscopic specimens of metals are subjected to cyclic loading, the creation, interaction, and accumulation of defects lead to damage, cracking, and failure. Here we demonstrate that when aluminum single crystals of submicrometer dimensions are subjected to low-amplitude cyclic deformation at room temperature, the density of preexisting dislocation lines and loops can be dramatically reduced with virtually no change of the overall sample geometry and essentially no permanent plastic strain. This “cyclic healing” of the metal crystal leads to significant strengthening through dramatic reductions in dislocation density, in distinct contrast to conventional cyclic strain hardening mechanisms arising from increases in dislocation density and interactions among defects in microcrystalline and macrocrystalline metals and alloys. Our real-time, in situ transmission electron microscopy observations of tensile tests reveal that pinned dislocation lines undergo shakedown during cyclic straining, with the extent of dislocation unpinning dependent on the amplitude, sequence, and number of strain cycles. Those unpinned mobile dislocations moving close enough to the free surface of the thin specimens as a result of such repeated straining are then further attracted to the surface by image forces that facilitate their egress from the crystal. These results point to a versatile pathway for controlled mechanical annealing and defect engineering in submicrometer-sized metal crystals, thereby obviating the need for thermal annealing or significant plastic deformation that could cause change in shape and/or dimensions of the specimen. PMID:26483463

Movement of basal plane dislocations in GaN during electron beam irradiation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yakimov, E. B.; National University of Science and Technology MISiS, Leninskiy pr. 4, Moscow 119049; Vergeles, P. S.

The movement of basal plane segments of dislocations in low-dislocation-density GaN films grown by epitaxial lateral overgrowth as a result of irradiation with the probing beam of a scanning electron microscope was detected by means of electron beam induced current. Only a small fraction of the basal plane dislocations was susceptible to such changes and the movement was limited to relatively short distances. The effect is explained by the radiation enhanced dislocation glide for dislocations pinned by two different types of pinning sites: a low-activation-energy site and a high-activation-energy site. Only dislocation segments pinned by the former sites can bemore » moved by irradiation and only until they meet the latter pinning sites.« less

Computational study of dislocation based mechanisms in FCC materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yellakara, Ranga Nikhil

Understanding the relationships between microstructures and properties of materials is a key to developing new materials with more suitable qualities or employing the appropriate materials in special uses. In the present world of material research, the main focus is on microstructural control to cost-effectively enhance properties and meet performance specifications. This present work is directed towards improving the fundamental understanding of the microscale deformation mechanisms and mechanical behavior of metallic alloys, particularly focusing on face centered cubic (FCC) structured metals through a unique computational methodology called three-dimensional dislocation dynamics (3D-DD). In these simulations, the equations of motion for dislocations are mathematically solved to determine the evolution and interaction of dislocations. Microstructure details and stress-strain curves are a direct observation in the simulation and can be used to validate experimental results. The effect of initial dislocation microstructure on the yield strength has been studied. It has been shown that dislocation density based crystal plasticity formulations only work when dislocation densities/numbers are sufficiently large so that a statistically accurate description of the microstructure can be obtainable. The evolution of the flow stress for grain sizes ranging from 0.5 to 10 mum under uniaxial tension was simulated using an improvised model by integrating dislocation pile-up mechanism at grain boundaries has been performed. This study showed that for a same initial dislocation density, the Hall--Petch relationship holds well at small grain sizes (0.5--2 mum), beyond which the yield strength remains constant as the grain size increases. Various dislocation-particle interaction mechanisms have been introduced and investigations were made on their effect on the uniaxial tensile properties. These studies suggested that increase in particle volume fraction and decrease in particle size has contributed to the strength of these alloys. This work has been successful of capturing complex dislocation mechanisms that involves interactions with particles during the deformation of particle hardened FCC alloys. Finally, the DD model has been extended into studying the cyclic behavior of FCC metallic alloys. This study showed that the strength as well as the cyclic hardening increases due to grain refinement and increase in particle volume fraction. It also showed that the cyclic deformation of ultra-fine grained (UFG) material have undergone cyclic softening at all plastic strain amplitudes. The results provided very useful quantitative information for developing future fatigue models.

Reducing dislocations in semiconductors utilizing repeated thermal cycling during multistage epitaxial growth

DOEpatents

Fan, John C. C.; Tsaur, Bor-Yeu; Gale, Ronald P.; Davis, Frances M.

1992-02-25

Dislocation densities are reduced in growing semiconductors from the vapor phase by employing a technique of interrupting growth, cooling the layer so far deposited, and then repeating the process until a high quality active top layer is achieved. The method of interrupted growth, coupled with thermal cycling, permits dislocations to be trapped in the initial stages of epitaxial growth.

Reducing dislocations in semiconductors utilizing repeated thermal cycling during multistage epitaxial growth

DOEpatents

Fan, John C. C.; Tsaur, Bor-Yeu; Gale, Ronald P.; Davis, Frances M.

1986-12-30

Dislocation densities are reduced in growing semiconductors from the vapor phase by employing a technique of interrupting growth, cooling the layer so far deposited, and then repeating the process until a high quality active top layer is achieved. The method of interrupted growth, coupled with thermal cycling, permits dislocations to be trapped in the initial stages of epitaxial growth.

Electron microscopy observations of radiation damage in irradiated and annealed tungsten

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grzonka, J.; Ciupiński, Ł.; Smalc-Koziorowska, J.; Ogorodnikova, O. V.; Mayer, M.; Kurzydłowski, K. J.

2014-12-01

In the present work tungsten samples were irradiated with W6+ ions with a kinetic energy of 20 MeV in order to simulate radiation damage by fast neutrons. Two samples with cumulative damage of 2.3 and 6.36 displacements per atom were produced. The scanning transmission electron microscopy investigations were carried out in order to determine structure changes resulting from the irradiation. The evolution of the damage with post implantation annealing in the temperature range 673-1100 K was also assessed. Damage profiles were studied at cross-sections. Scanning transmission electron microscopy studies of the lamellae after annealing revealed aggregation of defects and rearrangement as well as partial healing of dislocations at higher temperatures. The results confirm the higher density of radiation-induced dislocations in the near surface area of the sample (1.8 * 1014 m-2) in comparison with a deeper damage area (1.5 * 1014 m-2). Significant decrease of dislocation density was observed after annealing with a concurrent growth of dislocation loops. Transmission electron microscopy analyses show that the dislocation loops are perfect dislocations with the Burgers vectors of b = ½[ 1 1 1].

Single versus successive pop-in modes in nanoindentation tests of single crystals

DOE PAGES

Xia, Yuzhi; Gao, Yanfei; Pharr, George M.; ...

2016-05-24

From recent nanoindentation experiments, two types of pop-in modes have been identified: a single pop-in with a large displacement excursion, or a number of pop-ins with comparable and small displacement excursions. Theoretical analyses are developed here to study the roles played by indenter tip radius, pre-existing defect density, heterogeneous nucleation source type, and lattice resistance on the pop-in modes. The evolution of dislocation structures in earlier pop-ins provides input to modeling a stochastic, heterogeneous mechanism that may be responsible for the subsequent pop-ins. It is found that when the first pop-in occurs near theoretical shear stress, the pop-in mode ismore » determined by the lattice resistance and tip radius. When the first pop-in occurs at low shear stress, whether the successive pop-in mode occurs depends on how the heterogeneous dislocation nucleation source density increases as compared to the increase of the total dislocation density. Lastly, the above transitions are found to correlate well with the ratio of indenter tip radius to the mean spacing of dislocation nucleation sources.« less

Effects of Wavelength and Defect Density on the Efficiency of (In,Ga)N-Based Light-Emitting Diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pristovsek, Markus; Bao, An; Oliver, Rachel A.; Badcock, Tom; Ali, Muhammad; Shields, Andrew

2017-06-01

We measure the electroluminescence of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on substrates with low dislocation densities (LDD) at 106 cm-2 and low 108 cm-2 , and compare them to LEDs on substrates with high dislocation densities (HDD) closer to 1010 cm-2 . The external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) are fitted using the A B C model with and without localization. The nonradiative-recombination (NR) coefficient A is constant for HDD LEDs, indicating that the NR is dominated by dislocations at all wavelengths. However, A strongly increases for LDD LEDs by a factor of 20 when increasing the emission wavelength from 440 to 540 nm. We attribute this to an increased density of point defects due to the lower growth temperatures used for longer wavelengths. The radiative recombination coefficient B follows the squared wave-function overlap for all samples. Using the observed coefficients, we calculate the peak efficiency as a function of the wavelength. For HDD LEDs the change of wave-function overlap (i.e., B ) is sufficient to reduce the EQE as observed, while for LDD LEDs also the NR coefficient A must increase to explain the observed EQEs. Thus, reducing NR is important to improving the EQEs of green LEDs, but this cannot be achieved solely by reducing the dislocation density: point defects must also be addressed.

Correlations between critical current density, j{sub c}, critical temperature, T{sub c}, and structural quality of Y{sub 1}B{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-x} thin superconducting films

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chrzanowski, J.; Xing, W.B.; Atlan, D.

1994-12-31

Correlations between critical current density (j{sub c}) critical temperature (T{sub c}) and the density of edge dislocations and nonuniform strain have been observed in YBCO thin films deposited by pulsed laser ablation on (001) LaAlO{sub 3} single crystals. Distinct maxima in j{sub c} as a function of the linewidths of the (00{ell}) Bragg reflections and as a function of the mosaic spread have been found in the epitaxial films. These maxima in j{sub c} indicate that the magnetic flux lines, in films of structural quality approaching that of single crystals, are insufficiently pinned which results in a decreased critical currentmore » density. T{sub c} increased monotonically with improving crystalline quality and approached a value characteristic of a pure single crystal. A strong correlation between j{sub c} and the density of edge dislocations N{sub D} was found. At the maximum of the critical current density the density of edge dislocations was estimated to be N{sub D}{approximately}1-2 x 10{sup 9}/cm{sup 2}.« less

Correlations between critical current density, j(sub c), critical temperature, T(sub c),and structural quality of Y1B2Cu3O(7-x) thin superconducting films

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chrzanowski, J.; Xing, W. B.; Atlan, D.; Irwin, J. C.; Heinrich, B.; Cragg, R. A.; Zhou, H.; Angus, V.; Habib, F.; Fife, A. A.

1995-01-01

Correlations between critical current density (j(sub c)) critical temperature (T(sub c)) and the density of edge dislocations and nonuniform strain have been observed in YBCO thin films deposited by pulsed laser ablation on (001) LaAlO3 single crystals. Distinct maxima in j(sub c) as a function of the linewidths of the (00 l) Bragg reflections and as a function of the mosaic spread have been found in the epitaxial films. These maxima in j(sub c) indicate that the magnetic flux lines, in films of structural quality approachingthat of single crystals, are insufficiently pinned which results in a decreased critical current density. T(sub c) increased monotonically with improving crystalline quality and approached a value characteristic of a pure single crystal. A strong correlation between j(sub c) and the density of edge dislocations ND was found. At the maximum of the critical current density the density of edge dislocations was estimated to be N(sub D) approximately 1-2 x 10(exp 9)/sq cm.

Strain relaxation of thick (11–22) semipolar InGaN layer for long wavelength nitride-based device

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kim, Jaehwan; Min, Daehong; Jang, Jongjin

2014-10-28

In this study, the properties of thick stress-relaxed (11–22) semipolar InGaN layers were investigated. Owing to the inclination of growth orientation, misfit dislocations (MDs) occurred at the heterointerface when the strain state of the (11–22) semipolar InGaN layers reached the critical point. We found that unlike InGaN layers based on polar and nonpolar growth orientations, the surface morphologies of the stress-relaxed (11–22) semipolar InGaN layers did not differ from each other and were similar to the morphology of the underlying GaN layer. In addition, misfit strain across the whole InGaN layer was gradually relaxed by MD formation at the heterointerface.more » To minimize the effect of surface roughness and defects in GaN layers on the InGaN layer, we conducted further investigation on a thick (11–22) semipolar InGaN layer grown on an epitaxial lateral overgrown GaN template. We found that the lateral indium composition across the whole stress-relaxed InGaN layer was almost uniform. Therefore, thick stress-relaxed (11–22) semipolar InGaN layers are suitable candidates for use as underlying layers in long-wavelength devices, as they can be used to control strain accumulation in the heterostructure active region without additional influence of surface roughness.« less

Quantitative analysis of dislocation arrangements induced by electromigration in a passivated Al (0.5 wt % Cu) interconnect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barabash, R. I.; Ice, G. E.; Tamura, N.; Valek, B. C.; Bravman, J. C.; Spolenak, R.; Patel, J. R.

2003-05-01

Electromigration during accelerated testing can induce plastic deformation in apparently undamaged Al interconnect lines as recently revealed by white beam scanning x-ray microdiffraction. In the present article, we provide a first quantitative analysis of the dislocation structure generated in individual micron-sized Al grains during an in situ electromigration experiment. Laue reflections from individual interconnect grains show pronounced streaking during the early stages of electromigration. We demonstrate that the evolution of the dislocation structure during electromigration is highly inhomogeneous and results in the formation of unpaired randomly distributed dislocations as well as geometrically necessary dislocation boundaries. Approximately half of all unpaired dislocations are grouped within the walls. The misorientation created by each boundary and density of unpaired individual dislocations is determined. The origin of the observed plastic deformation is considered in view of the constraints for dislocation arrangements under the applied electric field during electromigration.

Dislocation dynamics simulations of interactions between gliding dislocations and radiation induced prismatic loops in zirconium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drouet, Julie; Dupuy, Laurent; Onimus, Fabien; Mompiou, Frédéric; Perusin, Simon; Ambard, Antoine

2014-06-01

The mechanical behavior of Pressurized Water Reactor fuel cladding tubes made of zirconium alloys is strongly affected by neutron irradiation due to the high density of radiation induced dislocation loops. In order to investigate the interaction mechanisms between gliding dislocations and loops in zirconium, a new nodal dislocation dynamics code, adapted to Hexagonal Close Packed metals, has been used. Various configurations have been systematically computed considering different glide planes, basal or prismatic, and different characters, edge or screw, for gliding dislocations with -type Burgers vectors. Simulations show various interaction mechanisms such as (i) absorption of a loop on an edge dislocation leading to the formation of a double super-jog, (ii) creation of a helical turn, on a screw dislocation, that acts as a strong pinning point or (iii) sweeping of a loop by a gliding dislocation. It is shown that the clearing of loops is more favorable when the dislocation glides in the basal plane than in the prismatic plane explaining the easy dislocation channeling in the basal plane observed after neutron irradiation by transmission electron microscopy.

Probing the character of ultra-fast dislocations

DOE PAGES

Rudd, R. E.; Ruestes, C. J.; Bringa, E. M.; ...

2015-11-23

Plasticity is often controlled by dislocation motion, which was first measured for low pressure, low strain rate conditions decades ago. However, many applications require knowledge of dislocation motion at high stress conditions where the data are sparse, and come from indirect measurements dominated by the effect of dislocation density rather than velocity. Here we make predictions based on atomistic simulations that form the basis for a new approach to measure dislocation velocities directly at extreme conditions using three steps: create prismatic dislocation loops in a near-surface region using nanoindentation, drive the dislocations with a shockwave, and use electron microscopy tomore » determine how far the dislocations moved and thus their velocity at extreme stress and strain rate conditions. We report on atomistic simulations of tantalum that make detailed predictions of dislocation flow, and find that the approach is feasible and can uncover an exciting range of phenomena, such as transonic dislocations and a novel form of loop stretching. Furthermore, the simulated configuration enables a new class of experiments to probe average dislocation velocity at very high applied shear stress.« less

Peierls potential of screw dislocations in bcc transition metals: Predictions from density functional theory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Weinberger, Christopher R.; Tucker, Garritt J.; Foiles, Stephen M.

2013-02-01

It is well known that screw dislocation motion dominates the plastic deformation in body-centered-cubic metals at low temperatures. The nature of the nonplanar structure of screw dislocations gives rise to high lattice friction, which results in strong temperature and strain rate dependence of plastic flow. Thus the nature of the Peierls potential, which is responsible for the high lattice resistance, is an important physical property of the material. However, current empirical potentials give a complicated picture of the Peierls potential. Here, we investigate the nature of the Peierls potential using density functional theory in the bcc transition metals. The resultsmore » show that the shape of the Peierls potential is sinusoidal for every material investigated. Furthermore, we show that the magnitude of the potential scales strongly with the energy per unit length of the screw dislocation in the material.« less

Doping and compensation in Al-rich AlGaN grown on single crystal AlN and sapphire by MOCVD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bryan, Isaac; Bryan, Zachary; Washiyama, Shun; Reddy, Pramod; Gaddy, Benjamin; Sarkar, Biplab; Breckenridge, M. Hayden; Guo, Qiang; Bobea, Milena; Tweedie, James; Mita, Seiji; Irving, Douglas; Collazo, Ramon; Sitar, Zlatko

2018-02-01

In order to understand the influence of dislocations on doping and compensation in Al-rich AlGaN, thin films were grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) on different templates on sapphire and low dislocation density single crystalline AlN. AlGaN grown on AlN exhibited the highest conductivity, carrier concentration, and mobility for any doping concentration due to low threading dislocation related compensation and reduced self-compensation. The onset of self-compensation, i.e., the "knee behavior" in conductivity, was found to depend only on the chemical potential of silicon, strongly indicating the cation vacancy complex with Si as the source of self-compensation. However, the magnitude of self-compensation was found to increase with an increase in dislocation density, and consequently, AlGaN grown on AlN substrates demonstrated higher conductivity over the entire doping range.

Shear-Coupled Grain Growth and Texture Development in a Nanocrystalline Ni-Fe Alloy during Cold Rolling

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Li; Ungár, Tamás; Toth, Laszlo S.

The evolution of texture, grain size, grain shape, dislocation and twin density has been determined by synchrotron X-ray diffraction and line profile analysis in a nanocrystalline Ni- Fe alloy after cold rolling along different directions related to the initial fiber and the long axis of grains. The texture evolution has been simulated by the Taylor-type relaxed constraints viscoplastic polycrystal model. The simulations were based on the activity of partial dislocations in correlation with the experimental results of dislocation density determination. The concept of stress-induced shear-coupling is supported and strengthened by both the texture simulations and the experimentally determined evolution ofmore » the microstructure parameters. Grain-growth and texture evolution are shown to proceed by the shear-coupling mechanism supported by dislocation activity as long as the grain size is not smaller than about 20 nm.« less

High-quality GaN epitaxially grown on Si substrate with serpentine channels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Tiantian; Zong, Hua; Jiang, Shengxiang; Yang, Yue; Liao, Hui; Xie, Yahong; Wang, Wenjie; Li, Junze; Tang, Jun; Hu, Xiaodong

2018-06-01

A novel serpentine-channeled mask was introduced to Si substrate for low-dislocation GaN epitaxial growth and the fully coalesced GaN film on the masked Si substrate was achieved for the first time. Compared with the epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELOG) growth method, this innovative mask only requires one-step epitaxial growth of GaN which has only one high-dislocation region per mask opening. This new growth method can effectively reduce dislocation density, thus improving the quality of GaN significantly. High-quality GaN with low dislocation density ∼2.4 × 107 cm-2 was obtained, which accounted for about eighty percent of the GaN film in area. This innovative technique is promising for the growth of high-quality GaN templates and the subsequent fabrication of high-performance GaN-based devices like transistors, laser diodes (LDs), and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on Si substrate.

The low thermal gradient CZ technique as a way of growing of dislocation-free germanium crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moskovskih, V. A.; Kasimkin, P. V.; Shlegel, V. N.; Vasiliev, Y. V.; Gridchin, V. A.; Podkopaev, O. I.

2014-09-01

This paper considers the possibility of growth of dislocation-free germanium single crystals. This is achieved by reducing the temperature gradients at the level of 1 K/cm and lower. Single germanium crystals 45-48 mm in diameter with a dislocation density of 102 cm-2 were grown by a Low Thermal Gradient Czochralski technique (LTG CZ).

Influence of cold work on electrochemical behavior of 316L ASS in PEMFC environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tandon, Vipin; Patil, Awanikumar P.; Rathod, Ramesh C.; Shukla, Sourabh

2018-02-01

The influence of cold work (CW) on electrochemical behavior of 316L ASS in PEMFC (0.5M H2SO4 + 2 ppm HF at 70 °C) environment was investigated by microstructural observations, x-ray diffraction (XRD), polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Mott-Schottky (M-S) techniques. The XRD is used to analyze the increase in dislocation density and formation of α‧-martensite with increasing CW degree. The EIS is used to find out the effect of substrate dislocation density on the film resistance. The EIS result show that with increasing CW, the diameter of depressed semi-circular arc and consequently film resistance decreased. This indicates the formation of highly disordered and porous film on CW. From PDP results, it is found that icrit, ip and icorr increased on increasing CW degree. Moreover, the direct relationship was drawn from the dislocation density of the substrate to the defect density of the passive film from M-S technique.

Impact of IRT item misfit on score estimates and severity classifications: an examination of PROMIS depression and pain interference item banks.

PubMed

Zhao, Yue

2017-03-01

In patient-reported outcome research that utilizes item response theory (IRT), using statistical significance tests to detect misfit is usually the focus of IRT model-data fit evaluations. However, such evaluations rarely address the impact/consequence of using misfitting items on the intended clinical applications. This study was designed to evaluate the impact of IRT item misfit on score estimates and severity classifications and to demonstrate a recommended process of model-fit evaluation. Using secondary data sources collected from the Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS) wave 1 testing phase, analyses were conducted based on PROMIS depression (28 items; 782 cases) and pain interference (41 items; 845 cases) item banks. The identification of misfitting items was assessed using Orlando and Thissen's summed-score item-fit statistics and graphical displays. The impact of misfit was evaluated according to the agreement of both IRT-derived T-scores and severity classifications between inclusion and exclusion of misfitting items. The examination of the presence and impact of misfit suggested that item misfit had a negligible impact on the T-score estimates and severity classifications with the general population sample in the PROMIS depression and pain interference item banks, implying that the impact of item misfit was insignificant. Findings support the T-score estimates in the two item banks as robust against item misfit at both the group and individual levels and add confidence to the use of T-scores for severity diagnosis in the studied sample. Recommendations on approaches for identifying item misfit (statistical significance) and assessing the misfit impact (practical significance) are given.

The Role of Geometrically Necessary Dislocations in Cantilever Beam Bending Experiments of Single Crystals

PubMed Central

Husser, Edgar; Bargmann, Swantje

2017-01-01

The mechanical behavior of single crystalline, micro-sized copper is investigated in the context of cantilever beam bending experiments. Particular focus is on the role of geometrically necessary dislocations (GNDs) during bending-dominated load conditions and their impact on the characteristic bending size effect. Three different sample sizes are considered in this work with main variation in thickness. A gradient extended crystal plasticity model is presented and applied in a three-dimensional finite-element (FE) framework considering slip system-based edge and screw components of the dislocation density vector. The underlying mathematical model contains non-standard evolution equations for GNDs, crystal-specific interaction relations, and higher-order boundary conditions. Moreover, two element formulations are examined and compared with respect to size-independent as well as size-dependent bending behavior. The first formulation is based on a linear interpolation of the displacement and the GND density field together with a full integration scheme whereas the second is based on a mixed interpolation scheme. While the GND density fields are treated equivalently, the displacement field is interpolated quadratically in combination with a reduced integration scheme. Computational results indicate that GND storage in small cantilever beams strongly influences the evolution of statistically stored dislocations (SSDs) and, hence, the distribution of the total dislocation density. As a particular example, the mechanical bending behavior in the case of a physically motivated limitation of GND storage is studied. The resulting impact on the mechanical bending response as well as on the predicted size effect is analyzed. Obtained results are discussed and related to experimental findings from the literature. PMID:28772657

Electrical properties of grain boundaries and dislocations in crystalline silicon: Influence of impurity incorporation and hydrogenation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Yongkook

This thesis examines the electrical properties of grain boundaries (GBs) and dislocations in crystalline silicon. The influence of impurity incorporation and hydrogenation on the electrical properties of grain boundaries , as well as the electrical activity of impurity decorated dislocations and the retention of impurities at dislocations at high temperatures have been investigated. The electrical properties of Si GB were examined by C-V, J-V , and capacitance transient methods using aluminum/Si(100)/Si(001) junctions. First, the density of states and the carrier capture cross-sections of the clean GB were evaluated by C-V/J-V analyses. The density of GB states was determined as 4.0x1012 cm-2eV -1. It was found that the states close to the valance band edge have relatively smaller hole capture cross sections than those at higher energy position, and electron capture cross sections are at least two or three orders larger than the corresponding hole capture cross sections. Secondly, the influence of iron contamination and hydrogenation following iron contamination on the electrical properties of (110)/(001) Si GB was characterized by a capacitance transient technique. Compared with the clean sample, iron contamination increased both the density of states by at least three times and the zero-bias barrier height by 70 meV, while reducing by two orders of magnitude the electron/hole capture cross-section ratio. Hydrogenation following iron contamination led to the reduction of the density of Fe-decorated GB states, which was increased to over 2x1013 cm-2eV-1 after iron contamination, to ˜1x1013 cm-2 eV-1 after hydrogenation treatment. The increased zero-bias GB energy barrier due to iron contamination was reversed as well by hydrogen treatment. The density of GB states before and after hydrogenation was evaluated by J-V, C-V and capacitance transient methods using gold/direct-silicon-bonded (DSB) (110) thin silicon top layer/(100) silicon substrate junctions. The GB potential energy barrier in thermal equilibrium was reduced by 70 meV. Whereas the clean sample had a density of GB states of ˜6x1012 cm-2eV-1 in the range of Ev+0.54˜0.64 eV, hydrogenation reduced the density of GB states to ˜9x1011 cm-2eV -1 in the range of Ev+0.56˜0.61 eV, which is about a seven-fold reduction from that of the clean sample. Segregation and thermal dissociation kinetics of hydrogen at a large-angle general GB in crystalline silicon have been investigated using deuterium as a readily identifiable isotope which duplicates hydrogen chemistry. Segregation or trapping of deuterium (hydrogen) introduced was found to take place at (110)/(001) Si GB. The segregation coefficient (k) of deuterium (hydrogen) at GB was determined as k≈24+/-3 at 100°C. Thermal dissociation of deuterium (hydrogen) from GB obeyed first-order kinetics with an activation energy of ˜1.62 eV. The electrical activities of dislocations in a SiGe/Si heterostructure were examined by deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) after iron contamination and phosphorous diffusion gettering. DLTS of iron contaminated samples revealed a peak at 210 K, which was assigned to individual iron atoms or very small (<2 nm) precipitates decorated along dislocations. Arrhenius plot of the 210 K peak yielded a hole capture cross section of 2.4x10-14 cm2 and an energy level of 0.42 eV above the valance band. DLTS of the iron contaminated sample revealed that 6x10 14 cm-3 of boron can more effectively trap interstitial iron at room temperature than the strain field/defect sites at 107 ˜108 cm-2 dislocations. Phosphorous diffusion experiments revealed that the gettering efficiency of iron impurities depends on the dislocation density. For regions of high dislocation density, phosphorous diffusion cannot remove all iron impurities decorated at dislocations, suggesting a strong binding of iron impurities at dislocation core defects.

Characterization of oxide nanoparticles in Al-free and Al-containing oxide dispersion strengthened ferritic steels.

PubMed

Lee, Jae Hoon; Kim, Jeoung Han

2013-09-01

Oxide nanoparticles in oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) ferritic steels with and without Al have been characterized by transmission electron microscopy. It is confirmed that most of the complex oxide particles consist of Y2TiO5 for 18Cr-ODS steel and YAlO3 or YAl5O12 for 18Cr5Al-ODS steel, respectivley. The addition of 5% Al in 18Cr-ODS steel leads to the formation of larger oxide particles and the reduction in their number density. For 18Cr-ODS steel, 87% of the oxide particles are coherent. The misfit strain of the coherent particles and a few semi-coherent particles is about 0.034 and 0.056, respectively. For 18Cr5Al-ODS steel, 75% of the oxide particles are semi-coherent, of which the misfit strain is 0.091 and 0.125, respectively. These results suggest that for the Al-containing ODS steel the Al addition accelerates the formation of semi-coherent oxide particles and its larger coherent and semi-coherent particles result in the larger misfit strain between the oxide particle and alloy matrix, indicating that the coherence of oxide nanoparticles in ODS steels is size-dependent.

Microstructural characterisation of proton irradiated niobium using X-ray diffraction technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dutta, Argha; Gayathri, N.; Neogy, S.; Mukherjee, P.

2018-04-01

The microstructural parameters in pure Nb, irradiated with 5 MeV proton beam have been evaluated as a function of dose using X-ray diffraction line profile analysis. In order to assess the microstructural changes in the homogeneous region and in the peak damage region of the damage energy deposition profile, X-ray diffraction patterns have been collected using two different geometries (Bragg-Brentano and parallel beam geometries). Different X-ray line profile analysis like Williamson-Hall (W-H) analysis, modified W-H analysis, double-Voigt analysis, modified Rietveld technique and convolutional multiple whole profile fitting have been employed to extract the microstructural parameters like coherent domain size, microstrain within the domain, dislocation density and arrangement of dislocations. The coherent domain size decreases drastically along with increase in microstrain and dislocation density in the first dose for both the geometries. With increasing dose, a decreasing trend in microstrain associated with decrease in dislocation density is observed for both the geometries. This is attributed to the formation of defect clusters due to irradiation which with increasing dose collapse to dislocation loops to minimise the strain in the matrix. This is corroborated with the observation of black dots and loops in the TEM images. No significant difference is observed in the trend of microstructural parameters between the homogeneous and peak damage region of the damage profile.

Dislocation pinning effects induced by nano-precipitates during warm laser shock peening: Dislocation dynamic simulation and experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liao, Yiliang; Ye, Chang; Gao, Huang; Kim, Bong-Joong; Suslov, Sergey; Stach, Eric A.; Cheng, Gary J.

2011-07-01

Warm laser shock peening (WLSP) is a new high strain rate surface strengthening process that has been demonstrated to significantly improve the fatigue performance of metallic components. This improvement is mainly due to the interaction of dislocations with highly dense nanoscale precipitates, which are generated by dynamic precipitation during the WLSP process. In this paper, the dislocation pinning effects induced by the nanoscale precipitates during WLSP are systematically studied. Aluminum alloy 6061 and AISI 4140 steel are selected as the materials with which to conduct WLSP experiments. Multiscale discrete dislocation dynamics (MDDD) simulation is conducted in order to investigate the interaction of dislocations and precipitates during the shock wave propagation. The evolution of dislocation structures during the shock wave propagation is studied. The dislocation structures after WLSP are characterized via transmission electron microscopy and are compared with the results of the MDDD simulation. The results show that nano-precipitates facilitate the generation of highly dense and uniformly distributed dislocation structures. The dislocation pinning effect is strongly affected by the density, size, and space distribution of nano-precipitates.

Determination of γ/ γ' Lattice Misfit in Ni-Based Single-Crystal Superalloys at High Temperatures by Neutron Diffraction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Shenyan; An, Ke; Gao, Yan; Suzuki, Akane

2018-03-01

Constrained γ/ γ' lattice misfit as a function of temperature (room temperature, 871 °C, 982 °C, 1093 °C, and 1204 °C) is measured by neutron diffraction on the first-generation Ni-based single-crystal superalloy René N4 and second-generation superalloys René N5, CMSX4, and PWA1484. All the alloys studied show negative misfit at temperatures above 871 °C. For René N4, René N5, and PWA1484, the misfit becomes less negative at temperatures above 1093 °C, possibly due to either the chemistry effect or internal stress relaxation. The magnitude of the misfit shows a qualitative agreement with Caron's misfit model based on Vegard's coefficients. The Re-free alloy René N4 was found to have a larger γ lattice parameter and γ/ γ' misfit due to higher fractions of Cr, Ti, and Mo. After 100 hours of annealing at high temperatures, René N5 shows a more negative misfit than the misfit after the standard heat treatment.

Non-Micropipe Dislocations in 4H-SiC Devices: Electrical Properties and Device Technology Implications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neudeck, Philip G.; Huang, Wei; Dudley, Michael; Fazi, Christian

1998-01-01

It is well-known that SiC wafer quality deficiencies are delaying the realization of outstandingly superior 4H-SiC power electronics. While efforts to date have centered on eradicating micropipes (i.e., hollow core super-screw dislocations with Burgers vectors greater than or equal to 2c), 4H-SiC wafers and epilayers also contain elementary screw dislocations (i.e., Burgers vector = 1c with no hollow core) in densities on the order of thousands per sq cm, nearly 100-fold micropipe densities. While not nearly as detrimental to SiC device performance as micropipes, it has recently been demonstrated that elementary screw dislocations somewhat degrade the reverse leakage and breakdown properties of 4H-SiC p(+)n diodes. Diodes containing elementary screw dislocations exhibited a 5% to 35% reduction in breakdown voltage, higher pre-breakdown reverse leakage current, softer reverse breakdown I-V knee, and microplasmic breakdown current filaments that were non-catastrophic as measured under high series resistance biasing. This paper details continuing experimental and theoretical investigations into the electrical properties of 4H-SiC elementary screw dislocations. The nonuniform breakdown behavior of 4H-SiC p'n junctions containing elementary screw dislocations exhibits interesting physical parallels with nonuniform breakdown phenomena previously observed in other semiconductor materials. Based upon experimentally observed dislocation-assisted breakdown, a re-assessment of well-known physical models relating power device reliability to junction breakdown has been undertaken for 4H-SiC. The potential impact of these elementary screw dislocation defects on the performance and reliability of various 4H-SiC device technologies being developed for high-power applications will be discussed.

Breakdown Degradation Associated with Elementary Screw Dislocations in 4H-SiC P(+)N Junction Rectifiers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neudeck, P. G.; Huang, W.; Dudley, M.

1998-01-01

It is well-known that SiC wafer quality deficiencies are delaying the realization of outstandingly superior 4H-SiC power electronics. While efforts to date have centered on eradicating micropipes (i.e., hollow core super-screw dislocations with Burgers vector greater than 2c), 4H-SiC wafers and epilayers also contain elementary screw dislocations (i.e., Burgers vector = lc with no hollow core) in densities on the order of thousands per sq cm, nearly 100-fold micropipe densities. This paper describes an initial study into the impact of elementary screw dislocations on the reverse-bias current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of 4H-SiC p(+)n diodes. First, Synchrotron White Beam X-ray Topography (SWBXT) was employed to map the exact locations of elementary screw dislocations within small-area 4H-SiC p(+)n mesa diodes. Then the high-field reverse leakage and breakdown properties of these diodes were subsequently characterized on a probing station outfitted with a dark box and video camera. Most devices without screw dislocations exhibited excellent characteristics, with no detectable leakage current prior to breakdown, a sharp breakdown I-V knee, and no visible concentration of breakdown current. In contrast devices that contained at least one elementary screw dislocation exhibited a 5% to 35% reduction in breakdown voltage, a softer breakdown I-V knee, and visible microplasmas in which highly localized breakdown current was concentrated. The locations of observed breakdown microplasmas corresponded exactly to the locations of elementary screw dislocations identified by SWBXT mapping. While not as detrimental to SiC device performance as micropipes, the undesirable breakdown characteristics of elementary screw dislocations could nevertheless adversely affect the performance and reliability of 4H-SiC power devices.

Local electrical properties of n-AlInAs/i-GaInAs electron channel structures characterized by the probe-electron-beam-induced current technique.

PubMed

Watanabe, Kentaro; Nokuo, Takeshi; Chen, Jun; Sekiguchi, Takashi

2014-04-01

We developed a probe-electron-beam-induced current (probe-EBIC) technique to investigate the electrical properties of n-Al(0.48)In(0.52)As/i-Ga(0.30)In(0.70)As electron channel structures for a high-electron-mobility transistor, grown on a lattice-matched InP substrate and lattice-mismatched GaAs (001) and Si (001) substrates. EBIC imaging of planar surfaces at low magnifications revealed misfit dislocations originating from the AlInAs-graded buffer layer. The cross-sections of GaInAs channel structures on an InP substrate were studied by high-magnification EBIC imaging as well as cathodoluminescence (CL) spectroscopy. EBIC imaging showed that the structure is nearly defect-free and the carrier depletion zone extends from the channel toward the i-AlInAs buffer layer.

Graphite, graphene and the flat band superconductivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Volovik, G. E.

2018-04-01

Superconductivity has been observed in bilayer graphene [1,2]. The main factor, which determines the mechanism of the formation of this superconductivity is the "magic angle" of twist of two graphene layers, at which the electronic band structure becomes nearly flat. The specific role played by twist and by the band flattening, has been earlier suggested for explanations of the signatures of room-temperature superconductivity observed in the highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), when the quasi two-dimensional interfaces between the twisted domains are present. The interface contains the periodic array of misfit dislocations (analogs of the boundaries of the unit cell of the Moire superlattice in bilayer graphene), which provide the possible source of the flat band. This demonstrates that it is high time for combination of the theoretical and experimental efforts in order to reach the reproducible room-temperature superconductivity in graphite or in similar real or artificial materials.

Strain Accommodation By Facile WO6 Octahedral Distortion and Tilting During WO3 Heteroepitaxy on SrTiO3(001)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Du, Yingge; Gu, Meng; Varga, Tamas

2014-08-27

In this paper, we show that compared to other BO6 octahedra in ABO3 structured perovskite oxides, the WO6 octahedra in tungsten trioxide (WO3) can withstand a much larger degree of distortion and tilting to accommodate interfacial strain, which in turn strongly impact the nucleation, structure, and defect formation during the epitaxial growth of WO3 on SrTiO3(001). A meta-stable tetragonal phase can be stabilized by epitaxy and a thickness dependent phase transition (tetragonal to monoclinic) is observed. In contrast to misfit dislocations to accommodate the interfacial stain, the facial WO6 octahedral distortion and tilting give rise to three types of planarmore » defects that affect more than 15 monolayers from the interface. These atomically resolved, unusual interfacial defects may significantly alter the electronic, electrochromic, and mechanical properties of the epitaxial films.« less

Growth and relaxation processes in Ge nanocrystals on free-standing Si(001) nanopillars.

PubMed

Kozlowski, G; Zaumseil, P; Schubert, M A; Yamamoto, Y; Bauer, J; Schülli, T U; Tillack, B; Schroeder, T

2012-03-23

We study the growth and relaxation processes of Ge crystals selectively grown by chemical vapour deposition on free-standing 90 nm wide Si(001) nanopillars. Epi-Ge with thickness ranging from 4 to 80 nm was characterized by synchrotron based x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. We found that the strain in Ge nanostructures is plastically released by nucleation of misfit dislocations, leading to degrees of relaxation ranging from 50 to 100%. The growth of Ge nanocrystals follows the equilibrium crystal shape terminated by low surface energy (001) and {113} facets. Although the volumes of Ge nanocrystals are homogeneous, their shape is not uniform and the crystal quality is limited by volume defects on {111} planes. This is not the case for the Ge/Si nanostructures subjected to thermal treatment. Here, improved structure quality together with high levels of uniformity of the size and shape is observed.

Observation of partial relaxation mechanisms via anisotropic strain relief on epitaxial islands using semiconductor nanomembranes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosa, Barbara L. T.; Marçal, Lucas A. B.; Ribeiro Andrade, Rodrigo; Dornellas Pinto, Luciana; Rodrigues, Wagner N.; Lustoza Souza, Patrícia; Pamplona Pires, Mauricio; Wagner Nunes, Ricardo; Malachias, Angelo

2017-07-01

In this work we attempt to directly observe anisotropic partial relaxation of epitaxial InAs islands using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and synchrotron x-ray diffraction on a 15 nm thick InAs:GaAs nanomembrane. We show that under such conditions TEM provides improved real-space statistics, allowing the observation of partial relaxation processes that were not previously detected by other techniques or by usual TEM cross section images. Besides the fully coherent and fully relaxed islands that are known to exist above previously established critical thickness, we prove the existence of partially relaxed islands, where incomplete 60° half-loop misfit dislocations lead to a lattice relaxation along one of the <110> directions, keeping a strained lattice in the perpendicular direction. Although individual defects cannot be directly observed, their implications to the resulting island registry are identified and discussed within the frame of half-loops propagations.

Observation of partial relaxation mechanisms via anisotropic strain relief on epitaxial islands using semiconductor nanomembranes.

PubMed

Rosa, Barbara L T; Marçal, Lucas A B; Andrade, Rodrigo Ribeiro; Pinto, Luciana Dornellas; Rodrigues, Wagner N; Souza, Patrícia Lustoza; Pires, Mauricio Pamplona; Nunes, Ricardo Wagner; Malachias, Angelo

2017-07-28

In this work we attempt to directly observe anisotropic partial relaxation of epitaxial InAs islands using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and synchrotron x-ray diffraction on a 15 nm thick InAs:GaAs nanomembrane. We show that under such conditions TEM provides improved real-space statistics, allowing the observation of partial relaxation processes that were not previously detected by other techniques or by usual TEM cross section images. Besides the fully coherent and fully relaxed islands that are known to exist above previously established critical thickness, we prove the existence of partially relaxed islands, where incomplete 60° half-loop misfit dislocations lead to a lattice relaxation along one of the 〈110〉 directions, keeping a strained lattice in the perpendicular direction. Although individual defects cannot be directly observed, their implications to the resulting island registry are identified and discussed within the frame of half-loops propagations.

Free-carrier mobility in GaN in the presence of dislocation walls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farvacque, J.-L.; Bougrioua, Z.; Moerman, I.

2001-03-01

The free-carrier mobility versus carrier density in n-type GaN grown by low-pressure metal-organic vapor- phase epitaxy on a sapphire substrate experiences a particular behavior that consists of the appearance of a sharp transition separating a low- from a high-mobility regime. This separation appears as soon as the carrier density exceeds a critical value that depends on the growth process. Using low-field electrical transport simulations, we show that this particular mobility behavior cannot be simply interpreted in terms of dislocation scattering or trapping mechanisms, but that it is also controlled by the collective effect of dislocation walls (the columnar structure). As the free-carrier density increases, the more efficient screening properties result in the transition from a barrier-controlled mobility regime to a pure-diffusion-process-controlled mobility regime. The model permits us to reproduce the experimental mobility collapse quantitatively.

Impact of threading dislocation density on the lifetime of InAs quantum dot lasers on Si

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jung, Daehwan; Herrick, Robert; Norman, Justin; Turnlund, Katherine; Jan, Catherine; Feng, Kaiyin; Gossard, Arthur C.; Bowers, John E.

2018-04-01

We investigate the impact of threading dislocation density on the reliability of 1.3 μm InAs quantum dot lasers epitaxially grown on Si. A reduction in the threading dislocation density from 2.8 × 108 cm-2 to 7.3 × 106 cm-2 has improved the laser lifetime by about five orders of magnitude when aged continuous-wave near room temperature (35 °C). We have achieved extrapolated lifetimes (time to double initial threshold) more than 10 × 106 h. An accelerated laser aging test at an elevated temperature (60 °C) reveals that p-modulation doped quantum dot lasers on Si retain superior reliability over unintentionally doped ones. These results suggest that epitaxially grown quantum dot lasers could be a viable approach to realize a reliable, scalable, and efficient light source on Si.

Initial stage corrosion of nanocrystalline copper particles and thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tao, Weimin

1997-12-01

Corrosion behavior is an important issue in nanocrystalline materials research and development. A very fine grain size is expected to have significant effects on the corrosion resistance of these novel materials. However, both the macroscopic corrosion properties and the corresponding structure evolution during corrosion have not been fully studied. Under such circumstances, conducting fundamental research in this area is important and necessary. In this study, high purity nanocrystalline and coarse-grained copper were selected as our sample material, sodium nitrite aqueous solution at room temperature and air at a high temperature were employed as corrosive environments. The weight loss testing and electrochemical methods were used to obtain the macroscopic corrosion properties, whereas the high resolution transmission electron microscope was employed for the structure analysis. The weight loss tests indicate that the corrosion rate of nanocrystalline copper is about 5 times higher than that of coarse-grained copper at the initial stage of corrosion. The electrochemical measurements show that the corrosion potential of the nanocrystalline copper has a 230 mV negative shift in comparison with that of the coarse-grained copper. The nanocrystalline copper also exhibits a significantly higher exchange current density than the coarse-grained copper. High resolution TEM revealed that the surface structure changes at the initial stage of corrosion. It was found that the first copper oxide layer formed on the surface of nanocrystalline copper thin film contains a large density of high angle grain boundaries, whereas that formed on the surface of coarse-grained copper shows highly oriented oxide nuclei and appears to show a strong tendency for forming low angle grain boundaries. A correlation between the macroscopic corrosion properties and the structure characteristics is proposed for the nanocrystalline copper based on the concept of the "apparent" exchange current density associated with mass transport of ions in the oxide layer. A hypothesis is developed that the high corrosion rate of the nanocrystalline copper is closely associated with the structure of the copper oxide layer. Therefore, a high "apparent" exchange current density for the nanocrystalline copper is associated with the high angle grain boundary structure in the initial oxide layer. Additional structure analysis was also carried out: (a) High resolution TEM imaging has provided a cross sectional view of the epitaxial interface between nanocrystalline copper and copper (I) oxide and explicitly discloses the presence of interface defects such as misfit dislocations. Based on this observation, a mechanism was proposed to explain the Cu/Cusb2O interface misfit accommodation. This appears to be the first time this interface has been directly examined. (b) A nanocrystalline analogue to a cross-section of Gwathmey's copper single crystal sphere was revealed by high resolution TEM imaging. A partially oxidized nanocrystalline copper particle is used to examine the variation of the Cu/Cusb2O orientation relationship with respect to changes in surface orientation. A new orientation relationship, Cu (011) //Cusb2O (11), ˜ Cu(011)//Cusb2O(111), was found for the oxidation of nanocrystalline copper.

Orientation and faulted structure of γ'-phases in lanthanum-alloyed Ni-Al-Cr superalloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikonenko, Elena; Shergaeva, Lyubov'; Popova, Natalya; Koneva, Nina; Qin, Rongshan; Gromov, Victor; Fedorischeva, Marina

2017-12-01

The paper presents the transmission and the scanning electron microscope investigations of thin foils of Ni-Al-Cr-based superalloy, which is obtained by the directional crystallization technique. This superalloy contains γ'- and γ- phases. Additionally, lanthanum is introduced in the superalloy in 0.015, 0.10 and 0.30 wt % concentrations. The superalloy specimens are then subjected to 1273 K annealing during 10 and 25 h. It is shown that γ'-phase is major. In the superalloy, lanthanides La2Ni3 and Al2La are detected along with carbide La2C3 particles located on dislocations of the major phase. The amount of phases in the superalloy depends on its thermal treatment and lanthanum concentration. The investigations include the effect of annealing on scalar density of dislocations in γ'-phase. It is demonstrated that lanthanum alloying modifies the preferred orientation of γ'-phase. Annealing of lanthanum-alloyed superalloy causes the orientation dispersion. In γ'-phase, the correlation is observed between the degree of heterogeneity of solid solution and scalar dislocation density. It is shown that this heterogeneity results in the formation of high-density dislocations in γ'- phase.

Period-doubling reconstructions of semiconductor partial dislocations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Park, Ji -Sang; Huang, Bing; Wei, Su -Huai

2015-09-18

Atomic-scale understanding and control of dislocation cores is of great technological importance, because they act as recombination centers for charge carriers in optoelectronic devices. Using hybrid density-functional calculations, we present period-doubling reconstructions of a 90 degrees partial dislocation in GaAs, for which the periodicity of like-atom dimers along the dislocation line varies from one to two, to four dimers. The electronic properties of a dislocation change drastically with each period doubling. The dimers in the single-period dislocation are able to interact, to form a dispersive one-dimensional band with deep-gap states. However, the inter-dimer interaction for the double-period dislocation becomes significantlymore » reduced; hence, it is free of mid-gap states. The Ga core undergoes a further period-doubling transition to a quadruple-period reconstruction induced by the formation of small hole polarons. In conclusion, the competition between these dislocation phases suggests a new passivation strategy via population manipulation of the detrimental single-period phase.« less

Three-dimensional finite element analysis of vertical and angular misfit in implant-supported fixed prostheses.

PubMed

Assunção, Wirley Gonçalves; Gomes, Erica Alves; Rocha, Eduardo Passos; Delben, Juliana Aparecida

2011-01-01

Three-dimensional finite element analysis was used to evaluate the effect of vertical and angular misfit in three-piece implant-supported screw-retained fixed prostheses on the biomechanical response in the peri-implant bone, implants, and prosthetic components. Four three-dimensional models were fabricated to represent a right posterior mandibular section with one implant in the region of the second premolar (2PM) and another in the region of the second molar (2M). The implants were splinted by a three-piece implant-supported metal-ceramic prosthesis and differed according to the type of misfit, as represented by four different models: Control = prosthesis with complete fit to the implants; UAM (unilateral angular misfit) = prosthesis presenting unilateral angular misfit of 100 μm in the mesial region of the 2M; UVM (unilateral vertical misfit) = prosthesis presenting unilateral vertical misfit of 100 μm in the mesial region of the 2M; and TVM (total vertical misfit) = prosthesis presenting total vertical misfit of 100 μm in the platform of the framework in the 2M. A vertical load of 400 N was distributed and applied on 12 centric points by the software Ansys, ie, a vertical load of 150 N was applied to each molar in the prosthesis and a vertical load of 100 N was applied at the 2PM. The stress values and distribution in peri-implant bone tissue were similar for all groups. The models with misfit exhibited different distribution patterns and increased stress magnitude in comparison to the control. The highest stress values in group UAM were observed in the implant body and retention screw. The groups UVM and TVM exhibited high stress values in the platform of the framework and the implant hexagon, respectively. The three types of misfit influenced the magnitude and distribution of stresses. The influence of misfit on peri-implant bone tissue was modest. Each type of misfit increased the stress values in different regions of the system.

Strain-induced structural defects and their effects on the electrochemical performances of silicon core/germanium shell nanowire heterostructures

DOE PAGES

Lin, Yung-Chen; Kim, Dongheun; Li, Zhen; ...

2016-12-14

Here we report on strain-induced structural defect formation in core Si nanowire of Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructure and influences of the structural defects on the electrochemical performances in lithium-ion battery anodes based on Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructures. The induced structural defects consisting of stacking faults and dislocations in the core Si nanowire were observed for the first time. The generation of stacking faults in Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructure is observed to prefer settling in either only Ge shell region or in both Ge shell and Si core regions and is associated with the increase of the shell volume fraction. Themore » relax of misfit strain in [112] oriented core/shell nanowire heterostructure leads to subsequent gliding of Shockley partial dislocations, preferentially forming the twins. The observation of cross-over defect formation is of great importance for the understanding of heteroepitaxy in radial heterostructures at nanoscale and building the three dimensional heterostructures for the various applications. In addition, the effect of the defect formation on nanomaterial’s functionality is investigated by electrochemical performance test. The Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructures enhance the gravimetric capacity of lithium ion battery anodes under fast charging/discharging rates compared to Si nanowires. However, the induced structural defects hamper lithiation of the Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructure.« less

Strain-induced structural defects and their effects on the electrochemical performances of silicon core/germanium shell nanowire heterostructures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lin, Yung-Chen; Kim, Dongheun; Li, Zhen

Here we report on strain-induced structural defect formation in core Si nanowire of Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructure and influences of the structural defects on the electrochemical performances in lithium-ion battery anodes based on Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructures. The induced structural defects consisting of stacking faults and dislocations in the core Si nanowire were observed for the first time. The generation of stacking faults in Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructure is observed to prefer settling in either only Ge shell region or in both Ge shell and Si core regions and is associated with the increase of the shell volume fraction. Themore » relax of misfit strain in [112] oriented core/shell nanowire heterostructure leads to subsequent gliding of Shockley partial dislocations, preferentially forming the twins. The observation of cross-over defect formation is of great importance for the understanding of heteroepitaxy in radial heterostructures at nanoscale and building the three dimensional heterostructures for the various applications. In addition, the effect of the defect formation on nanomaterial’s functionality is investigated by electrochemical performance test. The Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructures enhance the gravimetric capacity of lithium ion battery anodes under fast charging/discharging rates compared to Si nanowires. However, the induced structural defects hamper lithiation of the Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructure.« less

Chemical and morphological characterization of III-V strained layered heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gray, Allen Lindsay

This dissertation describes investigations into the chemical and morphological characterization of III-V strained layered heterostructures by high-resolution x-ray diffraction. The purpose of this work is two-fold. The first was to use high-resolution x-ray diffraction coupled with transmission electron microscopy to characterize structurally a quaternary AlGaAsSb/InGaAsSb multiple quantum well heterostructure laser device. A method for uniquely determining the chemical composition of the strain quaternary quantum well, information previously thought to be unattainable using high resolution x-ray diffraction is thoroughly described. The misconception that high-resolution x-ray diffraction can separately find the well and barrier thickness of a multi-quantum well from the pendellosung fringe spacing is corrected, and thus the need for transmission electron microscopy is motivated. Computer simulations show that the key in finding the well composition is the intensity of the -3rd order satellite peaks in the diffraction pattern. The second part of this work addresses the evolution of strain relief in metastable multi-period InGaAs/GaAs multi-layered structures by high-resolution x-ray reciprocal space maps. Results are accompanied by transmission electron and differential contrast microscopy. The evolution of strain relief is tracked from a coherent "pseudomorphic" growth to a dislocated state as a function of period number by examining the x-ray diffuse scatter emanating from the average composition (zeroth-order) of the multi-layer. Relaxation is determined from the relative positions of the substrate with respect to the zeroth-order peak. For the low period number, the diffuse scatter from the multi-layer structure region arises from periodic, coherent crystallites. For the intermediate period number, the displacement fields around the multi-layer structure region transition to random coherent crystallites. At the higher period number, displacement fields of overlapping dislocations from relaxation of the random crystallites cause the initial stages of relaxation of the multi-layer structure. At the highest period number studied, relaxation of the multi-layer structure becomes bi-modal characterized by overlapping dislocations caused by mosaic block relaxation and periodically spaced misfit dislocations formed by 60°-type dislocations. The relaxation of the multi-layer structure has an exponential dependence on the diffuse scatter length-scale, which is shown to be a sensitive measure of the onset of relaxation.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ghamarian, Iman, E-mail: imanghamarian@yahoo.com; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203; Samimi, Peyman

The presence and interaction of nanotwins, geometrically necessary dislocations, and grain boundaries play a key role in the mechanical properties of nanostructured crystalline materials. Therefore, it is vital to determine the orientation, width and distance of nanotwins, the angle and axis of grain boundary misorientations as well as the type and the distributions of dislocations in an automatic and statistically meaningful fashion in a relatively large area. In this paper, such details are provided using a transmission electron microscope-based orientation microscopy technique called ASTAR™/precession electron diffraction. The remarkable spatial resolution of this technique (~ 2 nm) enables highly detailed characterizationmore » of nanotwins, grain boundaries and the configuration of dislocations. This orientation microscopy technique provides the raw data required for the determination of these parameters. The procedures to post-process the ASTAR™/PED datasets in order to obtain the important (and currently largely hidden) details of nanotwins as well as quantifications of dislocation density distributions are described in this study. - Highlights: • EBSD cannot characterize defects such as dislocations, grain boundaries and nanotwins in severely deformed metals. • TEM based orientation microscopy technique called ASTAR™/PED was used to resolve the problem. • Locations and orientations of nanotwins, dislocation density distribution and grain boundary characters can be resolved. • This work provides the bases for further studies on the interactions between dislocations, grain boundaries and nanotwins. • The computation part is explained sufficiently which helps the readers to post process their own data.« less

Strength and Dislocation Structure Evolution of Small Metals under Vibrations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ngan, Alfonso

2015-03-01

It is well-known that ultrasonic vibration can soften metals, and this phenomenon has been widely exploited in industrial applications concerning metal forming and bonding. In this work, we explore the effects of a superimposed small oscillatory load on metal plasticity, from the nano- to macro-size range, and from audible to ultrasonic frequency ranges. Macroscopic and nano-indentation were performed on aluminum, copper and molybdenum, and the results show that the simultaneous application of oscillatory stresses can lower the hardness of these samples. More interestingly, EBSD and TEM observations show that subgrain formation and reduction in dislocation density generally occurred when stress oscillations were applied. These findings point to an important knowledge gap in metal plasticity - the existing understanding of ultrasound softening in terms of the vibrations either imposing additional stress waves to augment the quasi-static applied load, or heating up the metal, whereas the metal's intrinsic deformation resistance or dislocation interactive processes are assumed unaltered by the ultrasound, is proven wrong by the present results. Furthermore, in the case of nanoindentation, the Continuous Stiffness Measurement technique for contact stiffness measurement assumes that the imposed signal-carrier oscillations do not intrinsically alter the material properties of the specimen, and again, the present results prove that this can be wrong. To understand the enhanced subgrain formation and dislocation annihilation, Discrete Dislocation Dynamics (DDD) simulations were carried out and these show that when an oscillatory stress is superimposed on a quasi-static applied stress, reversals of motion of dislocations may occur, and these allow the dislocations to revisit repeatedly suitable configurations for annihilation. DDD, however, was unable to predict the observed subgrain formation presumably because the number of dislocations that can be handled is not large enough. Subgrain formation was directly predicted by a new simulation method of dislocation plasticity based on the dynamics of dislocation density functions.

Processing and Characterization of Mechanically Alloyed NiAl-Based Alloys

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-07-20

The ductility of the .MA material decreases at 800 K arranged in networks but many single dislocations are and again increases at higher temperatures...dislocation density increases significantly compared to the hot extruded material. Dislocations are often arranged in a network but many single...P. Deiavigette and S. Amelinckx, Phil. Mag., 5, 729 (1960). 10. K. Vedula and P.S. Khadkikar, High Te= nerone Ahi kides anwd Inmerti s, p.197, S.H

FIBER AND INTEGRATED OPTICS. OTHER TOPICS IN QUANTUM ELECTRONICS: Laser generation of dislocations and mechanism of anisotropic melting of semiconductor surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Volodin, B. L.; Emel'yanov, Vladimir I.

1990-05-01

An analysis is made of a vacancy-deformation mechanism of generation of dislocations by laser radiation involving condensation of laser-induced vacancies when the vacancy concentration exceeds a certain critical value. The theory can be used to estimate the radius of the resultant dislocation loops and their density. It is used to interpret anisotropic laser melting of semiconductor surfaces.

Cyclic softening in annealed Zircaloy-2: Role of edge dislocation dipoles and vacancies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sudhakar Rao, G.; Singh, S. R.; Krsjak, Vladimir; Singh, Vakil

2018-04-01

The mechanism of cyclic softening in annealed Zircaloy-2 at low strain amplitudes under strain controlled fatigue at room temperature is rationalized. The unusual softening due to continuous decrease in the phenomenological friction stress is found to be associated with decrease in the resistance against movement of dislocations because of the formation and easy glide of pure edge dislocation dipoles and consequent decrease in friction stress from reduction in the shear modulus. Positron annihilation spectroscopy data strongly support the increase in edge dislocation density containing jogs, from increased positron trapping and increase in annihilation lifetime.

Design and characterization of thick InxGa1-xAs metamorphic buffer layers grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schulte, K. L.; Zutter, B. T.; Wood, A. W.; Babcock, S. E.; Kuech, T. F.

2014-03-01

Thick InxGa1-xAs metamorphic buffer layers (MBLs) grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) were studied. Relationships between MBL properties and growth parameters such as grading rate, cap layer thickness, final xInAs, and deposition temperature (TD) were explored. The MBLs were characterized by measurement of in-plane residual strain (ɛ¦¦), surface etch pit density (EPD), and surface roughness. Capping layer thickness had a strong effect on strain relaxation, with thickly capped samples exhibiting the lowest ɛ¦¦. EPD was higher in samples with thicker caps, reflecting their increased relaxation through dislocation generation. ɛ¦¦ and EPD were weakly affected by the grading rate, making capping layer thickness the primary structural parameter which controls these properties. MBLs graded in discrete steps had similar properties to MBLs with continuous grading. In samples with identical thickness and 10-step grading style, ɛ¦¦ increased almost linearly with final xInAs, while total relaxation stayed relatively constant. Relaxation as a function of xInAs could be described by an equilibrium model in which dislocation nucleation is impeded by the energy of the existing dislocation array. EPD was constant from xInAs = 0 to 0.24 then increased exponentially, which is related to the increased dislocation interaction and blocking seen at higher dislocation densities. RMS roughness increased with xInAs above a certain strain rate (0.15%/µm) samples grown below this level possessed large surface hillocks and high roughness values. The elimination of hillocks at higher values of xInAs is attributed to increased density of surface steps and is related to the out-of-plane component of the burgers vector of the dominant type of 60° dislocation. TD did not affect ɛ¦¦ for samples with a given xInAs. EPD tended to increase with TD, indicating dislocation glide likely is impeded at higher temperatures.

Static Recovery Modeling of Dislocation Density in a Cold Rolled Clad Aluminum Alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Penlington, Alex

Clad alloys feature one or more different alloys bonded to the outside of a core alloy, with non-equilibrium, interalloy interfaces. There is limited understanding of the recovery and recrystallization behaviour of cold rolled clad aluminum alloys. In order to optimize the properties of such alloys, new heat treatment processes may be required that differ from what is used for the monolithic alloys. This study examines the recovery behaviour of a cold rolled Novelis Fusion(TM) alloy containing an AA6XXX core with an AA3003 cladding on one side. The bond between alloys appears microscopically discrete and continuous, but has a 30 microm wide chemical gradient. The as-deformed structure at the interalloy region consists of pancaked sub-grains with dislocations at the misorientation boundaries and a lower density organized within the more open interiors. X-ray line broadening was used to extract the dislocation density from the interalloy region and an equivalently deformed AA6XXX following static annealing using a modified Williamson-Hall analysis. This analysis assumed that Gaussian broadening contributions in a pseudo-Voigt function corresponded only to strain from dislocations. The kinetics of the dislocation density evolution to recrystallization were studied isothermally at 2 minute intervals, and isochronally at 175 and 205°C. The data fit the Nes model, in which the interalloy region recovered faster than AA6XXX at 175°C, but was slower at 205°C. This was most likely caused by change in texture and chemistry within this region such as over-aging of AA6XXX . Simulation of a continuous annealing and self homogenization process both with and without pre-recovery indicates a detectable, though small change in the texture and grain size in the interalloy region.

III-V compound semiconductor material characterization of microstructures and nanostructures on various optoelectronic devices with analytical transmission electron microscopy and high resolution electron microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Wei

Analytical Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and High Resolution Electron Microscopy have been carried out to characterize microstructures and nanostructures in various III-V compound semiconductor devices by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The low-defect GaN nonplanar templates by lateral epitaxial overgrowth (LEO) has a trapezoidal cross-section with smooth (0001) and {112¯2} facets. Penetration of threading dislocations (TDs) beyond mask windows is observed in ordinary LEO substrates. In two-step LEO substrates, where TDs are engineered to bend 90° in the TD bending layer after the first LEO step, only perfect a-type dislocations with Burgers vector b = 1/3 <112¯0> are generated in the upper Post-bending layer with a density of ˜8 x 107cm-2. The demonstrated 3-dimensional dislocation spatial distribution in the LEO nonplanar substrate substantiates the dislocation reaction mechanism. Al0.07GaN/GaN superlattice can further decrease dislocations. InGaN QW thickness enhancement on top of GaN nonplanar templates has been verified to influence the optoelectronic properties significantly. Dense arrays of hexagonally ordered MOCVD-grown (In)(Ga)As nano-QDs by block copolymer nanolithography & selective area growth (SAG), approximately 20nm in diameter and 40nm apart with a density of 1011/cm 2, are perfect crystals by TEM. V-shaped defects and worse InAs growth uniformity have been observed in multiple layers of vertically coupled self-assembled InAs nanostructure arrays on strain-modulated GaAs substrates. TEM shows a smooth coalesced GaN surface with a thickness as thin as ˜200nm after Nano-LEO and a defect reduction of 70%-75%. The (In)GaAs 20 nm twist bonded compliant substrates have almost no compliant effect and higher dislocation density, but the 10nm compliant substrates are on the contrary. A 60nm oxygen-infiltrated crystallized transition layer is observed between the amorphous oxidized layer and the crystallized unoxidized aperture in Al xGa1-xAs wet lateral oxidation, potentially influencing the current confinement characteristic of the sub-micron oxide aperture. Almost no dislocation is aroused by the wet lateral oxidation of In0.52Al 0.48As in the InP microresonator waveguides. XTEM was performed to compare InP SAG regions with 10˜50mum masks, which shows the performance deterioration of laser threshold current densities in the case of 50mum mask results from high density of dislocations induced from the highly strained QW structures caused by the high enhancements.

Influence of strain on dislocation core in silicon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pizzagalli, L.; Godet, J.; Brochard, S.

2018-05-01

First principles, density functional-based tight binding and semi-empirical interatomic potentials calculations are performed to analyse the influence of large strains on the structure and stability of a 60? dislocation in silicon. Such strains typically arise during the mechanical testing of nanostructures like nanopillars or nanoparticles. We focus on bi-axial strains in the plane normal to the dislocation line. Our calculations surprisingly reveal that the dislocation core structure largely depends on the applied strain, for strain levels of about 5%. In the particular case of bi-axial compression, the transformation of the dislocation to a locally disordered configuration occurs for similar strain magnitudes. The formation of an opening, however, requires larger strains, of about 7.5%. Furthermore, our results suggest that electronic structure methods should be favoured to model dislocation cores in case of large strains whenever possible.

Modeling and 2-D discrete simulation of dislocation dynamics for plastic deformation of metal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Juan; Cui, Zhenshan; Ou, Hengan; Ruan, Liqun

2013-05-01

Two methods are employed in this paper to investigate the dislocation evolution during plastic deformation of metal. One method is dislocation dynamic simulation of two-dimensional discrete dislocation dynamics (2D-DDD), and the other is dislocation dynamics modeling by means of nonlinear analysis. As screw dislocation is prone to disappear by cross-slip, only edge dislocation is taken into account in simulation. First, an approach of 2D-DDD is used to graphically simulate and exhibit the collective motion of a large number of discrete dislocations. In the beginning, initial grains are generated in the simulation cells according to the mechanism of grain growth and the initial dislocation is randomly distributed in grains and relaxed under the internal stress. During the simulation process, the externally imposed stress, the long range stress contribution of all dislocations and the short range stress caused by the grain boundaries are calculated. Under the action of these forces, dislocations begin to glide, climb, multiply, annihilate and react with each other. Besides, thermal activation process is included. Through the simulation, the distribution of dislocation and the stress-strain curves can be obtained. On the other hand, based on the classic dislocation theory, the variation of the dislocation density with time is described by nonlinear differential equations. Finite difference method (FDM) is used to solve the built differential equations. The dislocation evolution at a constant strain rate is taken as an example to verify the rationality of the model.

Study of Bulk and Elementary Screw Dislocation Assisted Reverse Breakdown in Low-Voltage (< 250 V) 4H-SiC p(sup +)n Junction Diodes--Part II: Dynamic Breakdown Properties. Part 2; Dynamic Breakdown Properties

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neudeck, Philip G.; Fazi, Christian

1999-01-01

This paper outlines the dynamic reverse-breakdown characteristics of low-voltage (<250 V) small-area <5 x 10(exp -4) sq cm 4H-SiC p(sup +)n diodes subjected to nonadiabatic breakdown-bias pulsewidths ranging from 0.1 to 20 microseconds. 4H-SiC diodes with and without elementary screw dislocations exhibited positive temperature coefficient of breakdown voltage and high junction failure power densities approximately five times larger than the average failure power density of reliable silicon pn rectifiers. This result indicates that highly reliable low-voltage SiC rectifiers may be attainable despite the presence of elementary screw dislocations. However, the impact of elementary screw dislocations on other more useful 4H-SiC power device structures, such as high-voltage (>1 kV) pn junction and Schottky rectifiers, and bipolar gain devices (thyristors, IGBT's, etc.) remains to be investigated.

Hydrogen diffusion in the elastic fields of dislocations in iron

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sivak, A. B., E-mail: Sivak-AB@nrcki.ru; Sivak, P. A.; Romanov, V. A.

2016-12-15

The effect of dislocation stress fields on the sink efficiency thereof is studied for hydrogen interstitial atoms at temperatures of 293 and 600 K and at a dislocation density of 3 × 10{sup 14} m{sup –2} in bcc iron crystal. Rectilinear full screw and edge dislocations in basic slip systems 〈111〉(110), 〈111〉(112), 〈100〉(100), and 〈100〉(110) are considered. Diffusion of defects is simulated by means of the object kinetic Monte Carlo method. The energy of interaction between defects and dislocations is calculated using the anisotropic theory of elasticity. The elastic fields of dislocations result in a less than 25% change ofmore » the sink efficiency as compared to the noninteracting linear sink efficiency at a room temperature. The elastic fields of edge dislocations increase the dislocation sink efficiency, whereas the elastic fields of screw dislocations either decrease this parameter (in the case of dislocations with the Burgers vector being 1/2〈111〉) or do not affect it (in the case of dislocations with the Burgers vector being 〈100〉). At temperatures above 600 K, the dislocations affect the behavior of hydrogen in bcc iron mainly owing to a high binding energy between the hydrogen atom and dislocation cores.« less

High dislocation density-induced large ductility in deformed and partitioned steels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, B. B.; Hu, B.; Yen, H. W.; Cheng, G. J.; Wang, Z. K.; Luo, H. W.; Huang, M. X.

2017-09-01

A wide variety of industrial applications require materials with high strength and ductility. Unfortunately, the strategies for increasing material strength, such as processing to create line defects (dislocations), tend to decrease ductility. We developed a strategy to circumvent this in inexpensive, medium manganese steel. Cold rolling followed by low-temperature tempering developed steel with metastable austenite grains embedded in a highly dislocated martensite matrix. This deformed and partitioned (D and P) process produced dislocation hardening but retained high ductility, both through the glide of intensive mobile dislocations and by allowing us to control martensitic transformation. The D and P strategy should apply to any other alloy with deformation-induced martensitic transformation and provides a pathway for the development of high-strength, high-ductility materials.

Reduced dislocation density in Ga xIn 1–xP compositionally graded buffer layers through engineered glide plane switch

DOE PAGES

Schulte, Kevin L.; France, Ryan M.; McMahon, William E.; ...

2016-11-17

In this work we develop control over dislocation glide dynamics in Ga xIn 1-xP compositionally graded buffer layers (CGBs) through control of CuPt ordering on the group-III sublattice. The ordered structure is metastable in the bulk, so any glissile dislocation that disrupts the ordered pattern will release stored energy, and experience an increased glide force. Here we show how this connection between atomic ordering and dislocation glide force can be exploited to control the threading dislocation density (TDD) in Ga xIn 1-xP CGBs. When ordered Ga xIn 1-xP is graded from the GaAs lattice constant to InP, the order parametermore » ..eta.. decreases as x decreases, and dislocation glide switches from one set of glide planes to the other. This glide plane switch (GPS) is accompanied by the nucleation of dislocations on the new glide plane, which typically leads to increased TDD. We develop control of the GPS position within a Ga xIn 1-xP CGB through manipulation of deposition temperature, surfactant concentration, and strain-grading rate. We demonstrate a two-stage Ga xIn 1-xP CGB from GaAs to InP with sufficiently low TDD for high performance devices, such as the 4-junction inverted metamorphic multi-junction solar cell, achieved through careful control the GPS position. Here, experimental results are analyzed within the context of a model that considers the force balance on dislocations on the two competing glide planes as a function of the degree of ordering.« less

High-speed collision of copper nanoparticle with aluminum surface: Molecular dynamics simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pogorelko, Victor V.; Mayer, Alexander E.; Krasnikov, Vasiliy S.

2016-12-01

We investigate the effect of the high-speed collision of copper nanoparticles with aluminum surface by means of molecular dynamic simulations. Studied diameter of nanoparticles is varied within the range 7.2-22 nm and the velocity of impact is equal to 500 or 1000 m/s. Dislocation analysis shows that a large quantity of dislocations is formed within the impact area. Overall length of dislocations is determined, first of all, by the impact velocity and by the size of incident copper nanoparticle, in other words, by the kinetic energy of the nanoparticle. Dislocations occupy the total volume of the impacted aluminum single crystal layer (40.5 nm in thickness) in the form of intertwined structure in the case of large kinetic energy of the incident nanoparticle. Decrease in the initial kinetic energy or increase in the layer thickness lead to restriction of the penetration depth of the dislocation net; formation of separate dislocation loops is observed in this case. Increase in the initial system temperature slightly raises the dislocation density inside the bombarded layer and considerably decreases the dislocation density inside the nanoparticle. The temperature increase also leads to a deeper penetration of the copper atoms inside the aluminum. Additional molecular dynamic simulations show that the deposited particles demonstrate a very good adhesion even in the case of the considered relatively large nanoparticles. Medium energy of the nanoparticles corresponding to velocity of about 500 m/s and elevated temperature of the system about 700-900 K are optimal parameters for production of high-quality layers of copper on the aluminum surface. These conditions provide both a good adhesion and a less degree of the plastic deformation. At the same time, higher impact velocities can be used for combined treatment consisting of both the plastic deformation and the coating.

White beam analysis of coupling between precipitation and plasticdeformation during electromigration in a passivated Al(0.5wt. percent Cu)interconnect

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Barabash, R.I.; Ice, G.E.; Tamura, N.

2005-09-01

The scaling of device dimensions with a simultaneous increase in functional density imposes a challenge to materials technology and reliability of interconnects. White beam X-ray microdiffraction is particularly well suited for the in situ study of electromigration. M.A. Krivoglaz theory was applied for the interpretation of white beam diffraction. The technique was used to probe microstructure in interconnects and has recently been able to monitor the onset of plastic deformation induced by mass transport during electromigration in Al(Cu) lines even before any macroscopic damage became visible. In the present paper, we demonstrate that the evolution of the dislocation structure duringmore » electromigration is highly inhomogeneous and results in the formation of unpaired randomly distributed geometrically necessary dislocations as well as geometrically necessary dislocation boundaries. When almost all unpaired dislocations and dislocation walls with the density n+ are parallel (as in the case of Al-based interconnects), the anisotropy in the scattering properties of the material becomes important, and the electrical properties of the interconnect depend strongly on the direction of the electric current relative to the orientation of the dislocation network. A coupling between the dissolution, growth and reprecipitation of Al2Cu precipitates and the electromigration-induced plastic deformation of grains in interconnects is observed.« less

3D discrete dislocation dynamics study of creep behavior in Ni-base single crystal superalloys by a combined dislocation climb and vacancy diffusion model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Siwen; Fivel, Marc; Ma, Anxin; Hartmaier, Alexander

2017-05-01

A three-dimensional (3D) discrete dislocation dynamics (DDD) creep model is developed to investigate creep behavior under uniaxial tensile stress along the crystallographic [001] direction in Ni-base single crystal superalloys, which takes explicitly account of dislocation glide, climb and vacancy diffusion, but neglects phase transformation like rafting of γ‧ precipitates. The vacancy diffusion model takes internal stresses by dislocations and mismatch strains into account and it is coupled to the dislocation dynamics model in a numerically efficient way. This model is helpful for understanding the fundamental creep mechanisms in superalloys and clarifying the effects of dislocation glide and climb on creep deformation. In cases where the precipitate cutting rarely occurs, e.g. due to the high anti-phase boundary energy and the lack of superdislocations, the dislocation glide in the γ matrix and the dislocation climb along the γ/γ‧ interface dominate plastic deformation. The simulation results show that a high temperature or a high stress both promote dislocation motion and multiplication, so as to cause a large creep strain. Dislocation climb accelerated by high temperature only produces a small plastic strain, but relaxes the hardening caused by the filling γ channels and lets dislocations further glide and multiply. The strongest variation of vacancy concentration occurs in the horizontal channels, where more mixed dislocations exit and tend to climb. The increasing internal stresses due to the increasing dislocation density are easily overcome by dislocations under a high external stress that leads to a long-term dislocation glide accompanied by multiplication.

New method for revealing dislocations in garnet: premelting decoration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xiangwen; Xie, Zhanjun; Jin, Zhenmin; Li, Zhuoyue; Ao, Ping; Wu, Yikun

2018-05-01

Premelting decoration (PMD) of dislocation experiments was carried out on garnets at 1 atmosphere pressure and temperatures of 800-1000 °C. Numerous decorated lines were observed on the polished surface of heat-treated garnet grains. The results of scanning electron microscopy, laser Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses indicate that these decorated lines were generated by premelting reaction along the dislocation lines and subgrain boundaries. The constituents of decorated lines on the polished surface of garnet are hematite, magnetite, and melt. While, in the interior of garnet, their constituents changed to Al-bearing magnetite and melt. The dislocation density of a gem-quality megacrystal garnet grain by means of the PMD is similar to that obtained by TEM, which confirms that the PMD is a new reliable method for revealing dislocations in garnet. This method greatly reduces the cost and time involved in the observation of dislocation microstructures in deformed garnet.

Nano-indentation used to study pyramidal slip in GaN single crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krimsky, E.; Jones, K. A.; Tompkins, R. P.; Rotella, P.; Ligda, J.; Schuster, B. E.

2018-02-01

The nucleation and structure of dislocations created by the nano-indentation of GaN samples with dislocation densities ≈103, 106 or 109 ⊥/cm2 were studied in the interest of learning how dislocations can be created to relieve the mismatch strain in ternary nitride films grown on (0001) oriented binary nitride substrates. Using transmission electron microscopy and stress analyses to assist in interpreting the nano-indentation data, we determined that the pop-ins in the indenter load vs. penetration depth curves are created by an avalanche process at stresses well above the typical yield stress. The process begins by the homogeneous formation of a basal plane screw dislocation that triggers the formation of pyramidal and other basal plane dislocations that relieve the excess stored elastic energy. It appears that pyramidal slip can occur on either the {1122} or {0111} planes, as there is little resistance to the cross slip of screw dislocations.

In Situ Neutron Diffraction Study of the Influence of Microstructure on the Mechanical Response of Additively Manufactured 304L Stainless Steel

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brown, D. W.; Adams, D. P.; Balogh, L.

In situ neutron diffraction measurements were completed for this study during tensile and compressive deformation of stainless steel 304L additively manufactured (AM) using a high power directed energy deposition process. Traditionally produced wrought 304L material was also studied for comparison. The AM material exhibited roughly 200 MPa higher flow stress relative to the wrought material. Crystallite size, crystallographic texture, dislocation density, and lattice strains were all characterized to understand the differences in the macroscopic mechanical behavior. The AM material’s initial dislocation density was about 10 times that of the wrought material, and the flow strength of both materials obeyed themore » Taylor equation, indicating that the AM material’s increased yield strength was primarily due to greater dislocation density. Finally, a ~50 MPa flow strength tension/compression asymmetry was observed in the AM material, and several potential causes were examined.« less

In Situ Neutron Diffraction Study of the Influence of Microstructure on the Mechanical Response of Additively Manufactured 304L Stainless Steel

DOE PAGES

Brown, D. W.; Adams, D. P.; Balogh, L.; ...

2017-10-10

In situ neutron diffraction measurements were completed for this study during tensile and compressive deformation of stainless steel 304L additively manufactured (AM) using a high power directed energy deposition process. Traditionally produced wrought 304L material was also studied for comparison. The AM material exhibited roughly 200 MPa higher flow stress relative to the wrought material. Crystallite size, crystallographic texture, dislocation density, and lattice strains were all characterized to understand the differences in the macroscopic mechanical behavior. The AM material’s initial dislocation density was about 10 times that of the wrought material, and the flow strength of both materials obeyed themore » Taylor equation, indicating that the AM material’s increased yield strength was primarily due to greater dislocation density. Finally, a ~50 MPa flow strength tension/compression asymmetry was observed in the AM material, and several potential causes were examined.« less

GaAsP solar cells on GaP/Si with low threading dislocation density

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yaung, Kevin Nay; Vaisman, Michelle; Lang, Jordan

2016-07-18

GaAsP on Si tandem cells represent a promising path towards achieving high efficiency while leveraging the Si solar knowledge base and low-cost infrastructure. However, dislocation densities exceeding 10{sup 8} cm{sup −2} in GaAsP cells on Si have historically hampered the efficiency of such approaches. Here, we report the achievement of low threading dislocation density values of 4.0–4.6 × 10{sup 6} cm{sup −2} in GaAsP solar cells on GaP/Si, comparable with more established metamorphic solar cells on GaAs. Our GaAsP solar cells on GaP/Si exhibit high open-circuit voltage and quantum efficiency, allowing them to significantly surpass the power conversion efficiency of previous devices. The resultsmore » in this work show a realistic path towards dual-junction GaAsP on Si cells with efficiencies exceeding 30%.« less

Non-Invasive Optical Characterization of Defects in Gallium Arsenide.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Xuezhong

This work is concerned with the development of a non-invasive comprehensive defect analysis system based on computer-assisted near infrared (NIR) microscopy. Focus was placed on the development of software for quantitative image analysis, contrast enhancement, automated defects density counting, and two-dimensional defect density mapping. Bright field, dark field, phase contrast, and polarized light imaging modes were explored for the analysis of striations, precipitates, decorated and undecorated dislocations, surface and subsurface damage, and local residual strain in GaAs wafers. The origin of the contrast associated with defect image formation in NIR microscopy was analyzed. The local change in the index of refraction about a defect was modelled as a mini-lens. This model can explain reversal of image contrast for dislocations in heavily doped n-type GaAs during defocusing. Defect structures in GaAs crystals grown by the conventional liquid encapsulated Czochralski (LEC) method are found to differ significantly from those grown by the horizontal Bridgman (HB) or vertical gradient freeze (VGF) method. Dislocation densities in HB and VGF GaAs are one to two orders of magnitude lower compared to those in conventional LEC GaAs. The dislocations in HB and VGF GaAs remain predominantly on the {111}/<1 |10> primary slip system and tend to form small-angle subboundaries. Much more complicated dislocation structures are found in conventional LEC GaAs. Dislocation loops, dipoles, and helices were observed, indicating strong interaction between dislocations and point defects in these materials. Precipitates were observed in bulk GaAs grown by the LEC, HB, and VGF methods. Precipitation was found to occur predominantly along dislocation lines, however, discrete particles were also observed in dislocation-free regions of the GaAs matrix. The size of discrete precipitates is much smaller than that of the precipitates along dislocations. Quenching after high temperature annealing at 1150^ circC was found effective in dissolving the precipitates but glide dislocations are generated during the quenching process. STEM/EDX analysis showed that the precipitates are essentially pure arsenic in both undoped and doped GaAs. NIR phase contrast transmission microscopy was found to be very sensitive in detecting surface and subsurface damage on commercial GaAs wafers. Wafers from a number of GaAs manufacturers were examined. It was shown that some GaAs wafers exhibit perfect surface quality, but in many instances they exhibit, to various extents, subsurface damage. Computer-assisted NIR transmission microscopy in a variety of modes is found to be a rapid and non-invasive technique suitable for wafer characterization in a fabline environment. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.) (Abstract shortened by UMI.).

Weak-beam scanning transmission electron microscopy for quantitative dislocation density measurement in steels.

PubMed

Yoshida, Kenta; Shimodaira, Masaki; Toyama, Takeshi; Shimizu, Yasuo; Inoue, Koji; Yoshiie, Toshimasa; Milan, Konstantinovic J; Gerard, Robert; Nagai, Yasuyoshi

2017-04-01

To evaluate dislocations induced by neutron irradiation, we developed a weak-beam scanning transmission electron microscopy (WB-STEM) system by installing a novel beam selector, an annular detector, a high-speed CCD camera and an imaging filter in the camera chamber of a spherical aberration-corrected transmission electron microscope. The capabilities of the WB-STEM with respect to wide-view imaging, real-time diffraction monitoring and multi-contrast imaging are demonstrated using typical reactor pressure vessel steel that had been used in an European nuclear reactor for 30 years as a surveillance test piece with a fluence of 1.09 × 1020 neutrons cm-2. The quantitatively measured size distribution (average loop size = 3.6 ± 2.1 nm), number density of the dislocation loops (3.6 × 1022 m-3) and dislocation density (7.8 × 1013 m m-3) were carefully compared with the values obtained via conventional weak-beam transmission electron microscopy studies. In addition, cluster analysis using atom probe tomography (APT) further demonstrated the potential of the WB-STEM for correlative electron tomography/APT experiments. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Japanese Society of Microscopy. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

A dislocation density based micromechanical constitutive model for Sn-Ag-Cu solder alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Lu; Yao, Yao; Zeng, Tao; Keer, Leon M.

2017-10-01

Based on the dislocation density hardening law, a micromechanical model considering the effects of precipitates is developed for Sn-Ag-Cu solder alloys. According to the microstructure of the Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu thin films, intermetallic compounds (IMCs) are assumed as sphere particles embedded in the polycrystalline β-Sn matrix. The mechanical behavior of polycrystalline β-Sn matrix is determined by the elastic-plastic self-consistent method. The existence of IMCs not only impedes the motion of dislocations but also increases the overall stiffness. Thus, a dislocation density based hardening law considering non-shearable precipitates is adopted locally for single β-Sn crystal, and the Mori-Tanaka scheme is applied to describe the overall viscoplastic behavior of solder alloys. The proposed model is incorporated into finite element analysis and the corresponding numerical implementation method is presented. The model can describe the mechanical behavior of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu and Sn-1.0Ag-0.5Cu alloys under high strain rates at a wide range of temperatures. Furthermore, the overall Young’s modulus changes due to different contents of IMCs is predicted and compared with experimental data. Results show that the proposed model can describe both elastic and inelastic behavior of solder alloys with reasonable accuracy.

Microstructure refinement of cold-sprayed copper investigated by electron channeling contrast imaging.

PubMed

Zhang, Yinyin; Brodusch, Nicolas; Descartes, Sylvie; Chromik, Richard R; Gauvin, Raynald

2014-10-01

The electron channeling contrast imaging technique was used to investigate the microstructure of copper coatings fabricated by cold gas dynamic spray. The high velocity impact characteristics for cold spray led to the formation of many substructures, such as high density dislocation walls, dislocation cells, deformation twins, and ultrafine equiaxed subgrains/grains. A schematic model is proposed to explain structure refinement of Cu during cold spray, where an emphasis is placed on the role of dislocation configurations and twinning.

Supercomputer modelling of an electronic structure for KCl nanocrystal with edge dislocation with the use of semiempirical and nonempirical models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Timoshenko, Yu K.; Shunina, V. A.; Shashkin, A. I.

2018-03-01

In the present work we used semiempirical and non-empirical models for electronic states of KCl nanocrystal containing edge dislocation for comparison of the obtained results. Electronic levels and local densities of states were calculated. As a result we found a reasonable qualitative correlation of semiempirical and non-empirical results. Using the results of computer modelling we discuss the problem of localization of electronic states near the line of edge dislocation.

Effect of oxygen on dislocation multiplication in silicon crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fukushima, Wataru; Harada, Hirofumi; Miyamura, Yoshiji; Imai, Masato; Nakano, Satoshi; Kakimoto, Koichi

2018-03-01

This paper aims to clarify the effect of oxygen on dislocation multiplication in silicon single crystals grown by the Czochralski and floating zone methods using numerical analysis. The analysis is based on the Alexander-Haasen-Sumino model and involves oxygen diffusion from the bulk to the dislocation cores during the annealing process in a furnace. The results show that after the annealing process, the dislocation density in silicon single crystals decreases as a function of oxygen concentration. This decrease can be explained by considering the unlocking stress caused by interstitial oxygen atoms. When the oxygen concentration is 7.5 × 1017 cm-3, the total stress is about 2 MPa and the unlocking stress is less than 1 MPa. As the oxygen concentration increases, the unlocking stress also increases; however, the dislocation velocity decreases.

Solar Synthesis of PbS-SnS2 Superstructure Nanoparticles.

PubMed

Brontvein, Olga; Albu-Yaron, Ana; Levy, Moshe; Feuerman, Daniel; Popovitz-Biro, Ronit; Tenne, Reshef; Enyashin, Andrey; Gordon, Jeffrey M

2015-08-25

We report the synthesis and supporting density-functional-theory computations for a closed-cage, misfit layered-compound superstructure from PbS-SnS2, generated by highly concentrated sunlight from a precursor mixture of Pb, SnS2, and graphite. The unique reactor conditions created in our solar furnace are found to be particularly conducive to the formation of these nanomaterials. Detailed structural and chemical characterization revealed a spontaneous inside-out formation mechanism, with a broad range of nonhollow fullerene-like structures starting at a diameter of ∼20 nm and a wall thickness of ∼5 layers. The computations also reveal a counterintuitive charge transfer pathway from the SnS2 layers to the PbS layers, which indicates that, in contrast to binary-layered compounds where it is principally van der Waals forces that hold the layers together, polar forces appear to be as important in stabilizing superstructures of misfit layered compounds.

Characterization of crack-tip microstructures via synchrotron fractography in Mo and Mo-Nb alloy crystals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hmelo, A.B.

1987-01-01

The nature of the plastic relaxation associated with the semi-brittle cleavage fracture of a series of pre-cracked molybdenum-niobium alloy single crystals was investigated as a function of composition and temperature from 77/sup 0/ to 298/sup 0/K. Conventional optical microscopy and white-beam Synchrotron X-Ray Fractography (SXRF) were used to examined the structure of a thin layer a few microns thick at the remnant of the precursor crack plastic zone. The plastic work of fracture was evaluated by measuring the lattice curvature associated with networks of dislocations beneath the cleavage surface. Using SXRF, lattice curvature is detected as asterism on photographic plates,more » and is associated with an excess density of edge dislocations of one sign. The results are in qualitative agreement with a previous determination of the fracture toughness of these specimens. Excess edge-dislocation density of one sign has been shown to vary as a function of temperature and composition, in a way consistent with previous studies of total dislocation content in these materials. Unlike the etch-pit analysis that can reveal the total dislocation content only, the tensor bases analysis described here allows the activity on individual slip systems to be distinguished.« less

Influence of template properties and quantum well number on stimulated emission from Al0.7Ga0.3N/Al0.8Ga0.2N quantum wells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeschke, J.; Martens, M.; Hagedorn, S.; Knauer, A.; Mogilatenko, A.; Wenzel, H.; Zeimer, U.; Enslin, J.; Wernicke, T.; Kneissl, M.; Weyers, M.

2018-03-01

AlGaN multiple quantum well laser heterostructures for emission around 240 nm have been grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy on epitaxially laterally overgrown (ELO) AlN/sapphire templates. The edge emitting laser structures showed optically pumped lasing with threshold power densities in the range of 2 MW cm-2. The offcut angle of the sapphire substrates as well as the number and the width of the quantum wells were varied while keeping the total thickness of the gain region constant. A larger offcut angle of 0.2° leads to step bunching on the surface as well as Ga accumulation at the steps, but also to an increased inclination of threading dislocations and coalescence boundaries resulting in a reduced dislocation density and thus a reduced laser threshold in comparison to lasers grown on ELO with an offcut of 0.1°. For low losses, samples with fewer QWs exhibited a lower lasing threshold due to a reduced transparency pump power density while for high losses, caused by a higher threading dislocation density, the quadruple quantum well was favorable due to its higher maximum gain.

Dislocation confinement in the growth of Na flux GaN on metalorganic chemical vapor deposition-GaN

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Takeuchi, S., E-mail: takeuchi@ee.es.osaka-u.ac.jp; Asazu, H.; Nakamura, Y.

2015-12-28

We have demonstrated a GaN growth technique in the Na flux method to confine c-, (a+c)-, and a-type dislocations around the interface between a Na flux GaN crystal and a GaN layer grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) on a (0001) sapphire substrate. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) clearly revealed detailed interface structures and dislocation behaviors that reduced the density of vertically aligned dislocations threading to the Na flux GaN surface. Submicron-scale voids were formed at the interface above the dislocations with a c component in MOCVD-GaN, while no such voids were formed above the a-type dislocations. The penetration ofmore » the dislocations with a c component into Na flux GaN was, in most cases, effectively blocked by the presence of the voids. Although some dislocations with a c component in the MOCVD-GaN penetrated into the Na flux GaN, their propagation direction changed laterally through the voids. On the other hand, the a-type dislocations propagated laterally and collectively near the interface, when these dislocations in the MOCVD-GaN penetrated into the Na flux GaN. These results indicated that the dislocation propagation behavior was highly sensitive to the type of dislocation, but all types of dislocations were confined to within several micrometers region of the Na flux GaN from the interface. The cause of void formation, the role of voids in controlling the dislocation behavior, and the mechanism of lateral and collective dislocation propagation are discussed on the basis of TEM results.« less

Defect mapping system

DOEpatents

Sopori, Bhushan L.

1995-01-01

Apparatus for detecting and mapping defects in the surfaces of polycrystalline materials in a manner that distinguishes dislocation pits from grain boundaries includes a laser for illuminating a wide spot on the surface of the material, a light integrating sphere with apertures for capturing light scattered by etched dislocation pits in an intermediate range away from specular reflection while allowing light scattered by etched grain boundaries in a near range from specular reflection to pass through, and optical detection devices for detecting and measuring intensities of the respective intermediate scattered light and near specular scattered light. A center blocking aperture or filter can be used to screen out specular reflected light, which would be reflected by nondefect portions of the polycrystalline material surface. An X-Y translation stage for mounting the polycrystalline material and signal processing and computer equipment accommodate rastor mapping, recording, and displaying of respective dislocation and grain boundary defect densities. A special etch procedure is included, which prepares the polycrystalline material surface to produce distinguishable intermediate and near specular light scattering in patterns that have statistical relevance to the dislocation and grain boundary defect densities.

Defect mapping system

DOEpatents

Sopori, B.L.

1995-04-11

Apparatus for detecting and mapping defects in the surfaces of polycrystalline materials in a manner that distinguishes dislocation pits from grain boundaries includes a laser for illuminating a wide spot on the surface of the material, a light integrating sphere with apertures for capturing light scattered by etched dislocation pits in an intermediate range away from specular reflection while allowing light scattered by etched grain boundaries in a near range from specular reflection to pass through, and optical detection devices for detecting and measuring intensities of the respective intermediate scattered light and near specular scattered light. A center blocking aperture or filter can be used to screen out specular reflected light, which would be reflected by nondefect portions of the polycrystalline material surface. An X-Y translation stage for mounting the polycrystalline material and signal processing and computer equipment accommodate rastor mapping, recording, and displaying of respective dislocation and grain boundary defect densities. A special etch procedure is included, which prepares the polycrystalline material surface to produce distinguishable intermediate and near specular light scattering in patterns that have statistical relevance to the dislocation and grain boundary defect densities. 20 figures.

Dislocations and charge density distributions of {gamma} phase in Ti47.5Al2.5V deformed at room temperature and 400 {degree}C

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhu, J.; Gao, Y.; Miao, Y.

The observations on quantity and configuration of dislocations by TEM conventional diffraction contrast method as well as the determinations of the electron charge density distributions by the quantitative electron crystallography method in Ti47.5Al2.5V deformed at 400 C and room temperature (R.T.) have been carried out. The metallic bonding between Al-Al or Ti-Ti atom pair along {l_angle}110] and Ti-Ti along {l_angle}112] direction is strengthened; while the metallic bonding between Ti-Al atom pair both along {l_angle}101] and {l_angle}121] direction is weakened at 400 C. The quantities of a/2{l_angle}110], a/2{l_angle}112] and dissociated a{l_angle}101] (a[101]{yields}a/2[1{bar 1}0] + a/3[112] + SISF + a/6[112]) dislocations aremore » increased at 400 C, compared with that at R. T.. The a/2 {l_angle}121] super dislocations have not been seen both at 400 C and R.T.« less

Dynamic phases, pinning, and pattern formation for driven dislocation assemblies

DOE PAGES

Zhou, Caizhi; Reichhardt, Charles; Olson Reichhardt, Cynthia J.; ...

2015-01-23

We examine driven dislocation assemblies and show that they can exhibit a set of dynamical phases remarkably similar to those of driven systems with quenched disorder such as vortices in superconductors, magnetic domain walls, and charge density wave materials. These phases include pinned-jammed, fluctuating, and dynamically ordered states, and each produces distinct dislocation patterns as well as specific features in the noise fluctuations and transport properties. Lastly, our work suggests that many of the results established for systems with quenched disorder undergoing plastic depinning transitions can be applied to dislocation systems, providing a new approach for understanding pattern formation andmore » dynamics in these systems.« less

Electronic and optical properties of GaN/AlN quantum dots with adjacent threading dislocations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Han; Lu, Peng-Fei; Yu, Zhong-Yuan; Yao, Wen-Jie; Chen, Zhi-Hui; Jia, Bo-Yong; Liu, Yu-Min

2010-04-01

We present a theory to simulate a coherent GaN QD with an adjacent pure edge threading dislocation by using a finite element method. The piezoelectric effects and the strain modified band edges are investigated in the framework of multi-band k · p theory to calculate the electron and the heavy hole energy levels. The linear optical absorption coefficients corresponding to the interband ground state transition are obtained via the density matrix approach and perturbation expansion method. The results indicate that the strain distribution of the threading dislocation affects the electronic structure. Moreover, the ground state transition behaviour is also influenced by the position of the adjacent threading dislocation.

Revealing microstructure and dislocation behavior in BAlN/AlGaN heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Haiding; Wu, Feng; Park, Young Jae; tahtamouni, T. M. Al; Liao, Che-Hao; Guo, Wenzhe; Alfaraj, Nasir; Li, Kuang-Hui; Anjum, Dalaver H.; Detchprohm, Theeradetch; Dupuis, Russell D.; Li, Xiaohang

2018-01-01

We reveal the microstructure and dislocation behavior in 20-pair B0.14Al0.86N/Al0.70Ga0.30N multiple-stack heterostructures (MSHs) exhibiting an increasing dislocation density along the c-axis, which is attributed to the continuous generation of dislocations (edge and mixed-type) within the individual B0.14Al0.86N layers. At the MSH interfaces, the threading dislocations were accompanied by a string of V-shape pits extending to the surface, leading to interface roughening and the formation of surface columnar features. Strain maps indicated an approximately 1.5% tensile strain and 1% compressive strain in the B0.14Al0.86N and Al0.70Ga0.30N layers, respectively. Twin structures were observed, and the MSH eventually changed from monocrystalline to polycrystalline.

Size effect, critical resolved shear stress, stacking fault energy, and solid solution strengthening in the CrMnFeCoNi high-entropy alloy.

PubMed

Okamoto, Norihiko L; Fujimoto, Shu; Kambara, Yuki; Kawamura, Marino; Chen, Zhenghao M T; Matsunoshita, Hirotaka; Tanaka, Katsushi; Inui, Haruyuki; George, Easo P

2016-10-24

High-entropy alloys (HEAs) comprise a novel class of scientifically and technologically interesting materials. Among these, equatomic CrMnFeCoNi with the face-centered cubic (FCC) structure is noteworthy because its ductility and strength increase with decreasing temperature while maintaining outstanding fracture toughness at cryogenic temperatures. Here we report for the first time by single-crystal micropillar compression that its bulk room temperature critical resolved shear stress (CRSS) is ~33-43 MPa, ~10 times higher than that of pure nickel. CRSS depends on pillar size with an inverse power-law scaling exponent of -0.63 independent of orientation. Planar ½ < 110 > {111} dislocations dissociate into Shockley partials whose separations range from ~3.5-4.5 nm near the screw orientation to ~5-8 nm near the edge, yielding a stacking fault energy of 30 ± 5 mJ/m 2 . Dislocations are smoothly curved without any preferred line orientation indicating no significant anisotropy in mobilities of edge and screw segments. The shear-modulus-normalized CRSS of the HEA is not exceptionally high compared to those of certain concentrated binary FCC solid solutions. Its rough magnitude calculated using the Fleischer/Labusch models corresponds to that of a hypothetical binary with the elastic constants of our HEA, solute concentrations of 20-50 at.%, and atomic size misfit of ~4%.

Size effect, critical resolved shear stress, stacking fault energy, and solid solution strengthening in the CrMnFeCoNi high-entropy alloy

PubMed Central

Okamoto, Norihiko L.; Fujimoto, Shu; Kambara, Yuki; Kawamura, Marino; Chen, Zhenghao M. T.; Matsunoshita, Hirotaka; Tanaka, Katsushi; Inui, Haruyuki; George, Easo P.

2016-01-01

High-entropy alloys (HEAs) comprise a novel class of scientifically and technologically interesting materials. Among these, equatomic CrMnFeCoNi with the face-centered cubic (FCC) structure is noteworthy because its ductility and strength increase with decreasing temperature while maintaining outstanding fracture toughness at cryogenic temperatures. Here we report for the first time by single-crystal micropillar compression that its bulk room temperature critical resolved shear stress (CRSS) is ~33–43 MPa, ~10 times higher than that of pure nickel. CRSS depends on pillar size with an inverse power-law scaling exponent of –0.63 independent of orientation. Planar ½ < 110 > {111} dislocations dissociate into Shockley partials whose separations range from ~3.5–4.5 nm near the screw orientation to ~5–8 nm near the edge, yielding a stacking fault energy of 30 ± 5 mJ/m2. Dislocations are smoothly curved without any preferred line orientation indicating no significant anisotropy in mobilities of edge and screw segments. The shear-modulus-normalized CRSS of the HEA is not exceptionally high compared to those of certain concentrated binary FCC solid solutions. Its rough magnitude calculated using the Fleischer/Labusch models corresponds to that of a hypothetical binary with the elastic constants of our HEA, solute concentrations of 20–50 at.%, and atomic size misfit of ~4%. PMID:27775026

On the tungsten single crystal coatings achieved by chemical vapor transportation deposition

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shi, J.Q.; Shen, Y.B.; Yao, S.Y.

2016-12-15

The tungsten single crystal has many excellent properties, namely a high melting point, high anti-creeping strength. Chemical vapor transportation deposition (CVTD) is a possible approach to achieve large-sized W single crystals for high-temperature application such as the cathode of a thermionic energy converter. In this work, CVTD W coatings were deposited on the monocrystalline molybdenum substrate (a tube with < 111 > axial crystalline orientation) using WCl{sub 6} as a transport medium. The microstructures of the coatings were investigated by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The as-deposited coatings are hexagonal prisms—rough surfaces perpendicular to with alternating hill-like bulges and pits at the side edges of the prisms, and flat surfaces perpendicular to < 112 > with arc-shaped terraces at the side faces. This can be explained by two-dimensional nucleation -mediated lateral growth model. Some parts of the coatings contain hillocks of an exotic morphology (noted as “abnormal growth”). The authors hypothesize that the abnormal growth is likely caused by the defects of the Mo substrate, which facilitate W nucleation sites, cause orientation difference, and may even form boundaries in the coatings. A dislocation density of 10{sup 6} to 10{sup 7} (counts/cm{sup 2}) was revealed by an etch-pit method and synchrotron X-ray diffraction. As the depositing temperature rises, the dislocation density decreases, and no sub-boundaries are found on samples deposited over 1300 °C, as a result of atom diffusion and dislocation climbing. - Highlights: •The varied growth rate causes the different morphologies of different planes. •The W coating is a single crystal when only single hillocks appear. •The (110) plane tends to have the lowest dislocation density. •The dislocation density tends to decrease as the temperature increases.« less

Transition of dislocation glide to shear transformation in shocked tantalum

DOE PAGES

Hsiung, Luke L.; Campbell, Geoffrey H.

2017-02-28

A TEM study of pure tantalum and tantalum-tungsten alloys explosively shocked at a peak pressure of 30 GPa (strain rate: ~1 x 10 4 sec -1) is presented. While no ω (hexagonal) phase was found in shock-recovered pure Ta and Ta-5W that contain mainly a low-energy cellular dislocation structure, shock-induced ω phase was found to form in Ta-10W that contains evenly distributed dislocations with a stored dislocation density higher than 1 x 10 12 cm -2. The TEM results clearly reveal that shock-induced α (bcc) → ω (hexagonal) shear transformation occurs when dynamic recovery reactions which lead the formation low-energymore » cellular dislocation structure become largely suppressed in Ta-10W shocked under dynamic (i.e., high strain-rate and high-pressure) conditions. A novel dislocation-based mechanism is proposed to rationalize the transition of dislocation glide to twinning and/or shear transformation in shock-deformed tantalum. Lastly, twinning and/or shear transformation take place as an alternative deformation mechanism to accommodate high-strain-rate straining when the shear stress required for dislocation multiplication exceeds the threshold shear stresses for twinning and/or shear transformation.« less

Collective behaviour of dislocations in a finite medium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kooiman, M.; Hütter, M.; Geers, M. G. D.

2014-04-01

We derive the grand-canonical partition function of straight and parallel dislocation lines without making a priori assumptions on the temperature regime. Such a systematic derivation for dislocations has, to the best of our knowledge, not been carried out before, and several conflicting assumptions on the free energy of dislocations have been made in the literature. Dislocations have gained interest as they are the carriers of plastic deformation in crystalline materials and solid polymers, and they constitute a prototype system for two-dimensional Coulomb particles. Our microscopic starting level is the description of dislocations as used in the discrete dislocation dynamics (DDD) framework. The macroscopic level of interest is characterized by the temperature, the boundary deformation and the dislocation density profile. By integrating over state space, we obtain a field theoretic partition function, which is a functional integral of the Boltzmann weight over an auxiliary field. The Hamiltonian consists of a term quadratic in the field and an exponential of this field. The partition function is strongly non-local, and reduces in special cases to the sine-Gordon model. Moreover, we determine implicit expressions for the response functions and the dominant scaling regime for metals, namely the low-temperature regime.

Creep Deformation by Dislocation Movement in Waspaloy

PubMed Central

Whittaker, Mark; Harrison, Will; Deen, Christopher; Rae, Cathie; Williams, Steve

2017-01-01

Creep tests of the polycrystalline nickel alloy Waspaloy have been conducted at Swansea University, for varying stress conditions at 700 °C. Investigation through use of Transmission Electron Microscopy at Cambridge University has examined the dislocation networks formed under these conditions, with particular attention paid to comparing tests performed above and below the yield stress. This paper highlights how the dislocation structures vary throughout creep and proposes a dislocation mechanism theory for creep in Waspaloy. Activation energies are calculated through approaches developed in the use of the recently formulated Wilshire Equations, and are found to differ above and below the yield stress. Low activation energies are found to be related to dislocation interaction with γ′ precipitates below the yield stress. However, significantly increased dislocation densities at stresses above yield cause an increase in the activation energy values as forest hardening becomes the primary mechanism controlling dislocation movement. It is proposed that the activation energy change is related to the stress increment provided by work hardening, as can be observed from Ti, Ni and steel results. PMID:28772421

Statistics of dislocation pinning at localized obstacles

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dutta, A.; Bhattacharya, M., E-mail: mishreyee@vecc.gov.in; Barat, P.

2014-10-14

Pinning of dislocations at nanosized obstacles like precipitates, voids, and bubbles is a crucial mechanism in the context of phenomena like hardening and creep. The interaction between such an obstacle and a dislocation is often studied at fundamental level by means of analytical tools, atomistic simulations, and finite element methods. Nevertheless, the information extracted from such studies cannot be utilized to its maximum extent on account of insufficient information about the underlying statistics of this process comprising a large number of dislocations and obstacles in a system. Here, we propose a new statistical approach, where the statistics of pinning ofmore » dislocations by idealized spherical obstacles is explored by taking into account the generalized size-distribution of the obstacles along with the dislocation density within a three-dimensional framework. Starting with a minimal set of material parameters, the framework employs the method of geometrical statistics with a few simple assumptions compatible with the real physical scenario. The application of this approach, in combination with the knowledge of fundamental dislocation-obstacle interactions, has successfully been demonstrated for dislocation pinning at nanovoids in neutron irradiated type 316-stainless steel in regard to the non-conservative motion of dislocations. An interesting phenomenon of transition from rare pinning to multiple pinning regimes with increasing irradiation temperature is revealed.« less

Dislocation Content Measured Via 3D HR-EBSD Near a Grain Boundary in an AlCu Oligocrystal

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ruggles, Timothy; Hochhalter, Jacob; Homer, Eric

2016-01-01

Interactions between dislocations and grain boundaries are poorly understood and crucial to mesoscale plasticity modeling. Much of our understanding of dislocation-grain boundary interaction comes from atomistic simulations and TEM studies, both of which are extremely limited in scale. High angular resolution EBSD-based continuum dislocation microscopy provides a way of measuring dislocation activity at length scales and accuracies relevant to crystal plasticity, but it is limited as a two-dimensional technique, meaning the character of the grain boundary and the complete dislocation activity is difficult to recover. However, the commercialization of plasma FIB dual-beam microscopes have made 3D EBSD studies all the more feasible. The objective of this work is to apply high angular resolution cross correlation EBSD to a 3D EBSD data set collected by serial sectioning in a FIB to characterize dislocation interaction with a grain boundary. Three dimensional high angular resolution cross correlation EBSD analysis was applied to an AlCu oligocrystal to measure dislocation densities around a grain boundary. Distortion derivatives associated with the plasma FIB serial sectioning were higher than expected, possibly due to geometric uncertainty between layers. Future work will focus on mitigating the geometric uncertainty and examining more regions of interest along the grain boundary to glean information on dislocation-grain boundary interaction.

The deformation mechanisms and size effects of single-crystal magnesium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Byer, Cynthia M.

In this work, we seek to understand the deformation mechanisms and size effects of single-crystal magnesium at the micrometer scale through both microcompression experiments and finite element simulations. Microcompression experiments are conducted to investigate the impact of initial dislocation density and orientation on size effects. Micropillars are fabricated using a focused ion beam and tested in a Nanoindenter using a diamond fiat tip as a compression platen. Two different initial dislocation densities are examined for [0001] oriented micropillars. Our results demonstrate that decreasing the initial dislocation density results in an increased size effect in terms of increased strength and stochasticity. Microcompression along the [23¯14] axis results in much lower strengths than for [0001] oriented samples. Post-mortem analysis reveals basal slip in both [0001] and [23¯14] micropillars. The application of a stochastic probability model shows good agreement between theoretical predictions and experimental results for size effects with our values of initial dislocation density and micropillar dimensions. Size effects are then incorporated into a single-crystal plasticity model (modified from Zhang and Joshi [1]) implemented in ABAQUS/STANDARD as a user-material subroutine. The model successfully captures the phenomena typically associated with size effects of increasing stochasticity and strength with decreasing specimen size and also accounts for the changing trends resulting from variations in initial dislocation density that we observe in the experiments. Finally, finite element simulations are performed with the original (traditional, without size effects) crystal plasticity model [1] to investigate the relative activities of the deformation modes of single-crystal magnesium for varying degrees of misalignment in microcompression. The simulations reveal basal activity in all micropillars, even for perfectly aligned compression along the [0001] axis. Pyramidal < c + a > activity dominates until the misalignment increases to 2°, when basal slip takes over as the dominant mode. The stress-strain curves for the case of 0° misalignment agrees well with experimental curves, indicating that good alignment was achieved during the experiments. Through this investigation, we gain a better understanding of how to control the size effects, as well as the deformation mechanisms operating at the small scale in magnesium.

Processing of energy materials in electromagnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodzevich, A. P.; Kuzmina, L. V.; Gazenaur, E. G.; Krasheninin, V. I.

2015-09-01

This paper presents the research results of complex impact of mechanical stress and electromagnetic field on the defect structure of energy materials. As the object of research quite a typical energy material - silver azide was chosen, being a model in chemistry of solids. According to the experiments co-effect of magnetic field and mechanical stress in silver azide crystals furthers multiplication, stopper breakaway, shift of dislocations, and generation of superlattice dislocations - micro-cracks. A method of mechanical and electric strengthening has been developed and involves changing the density of dislocations in whiskers.

New insights into microstructural evolution of epitaxial Ni-Mn-Ga films on MgO (1 0 0) substrate by high-resolution X-ray diffraction and orientation imaging investigations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, Amit; Mohan, Sangeneni; Suwas, Satyam

2018-04-01

In this work, a detailed investigation has been performed on hetero-epitaxial growth and microstructural evolution in highly oriented Ni-Mn-Ga (1 0 0) films grown on MgO (1 0 0) substrate using high-resolution X-ray diffraction and orientation imaging microscopy. Mosaicity of the films has been analysed in terms of tilt angle, twist angle, lateral and vertical coherence length and threading dislocation densities by performing rocking curve measurements and reciprocal space mapping. Density of edge dislocations is found to be an order of magnitude higher than the density of screw dislocations, irrespective of film thickness. X-ray pole figure measurements have revealed an orientation relationship of ? || (1 0 0)MgO; ? || [0 0 1]MgO between the film and substrate. Microstructure predicted by X-ray diffraction is in agreement with that obtained from electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The evolution of microstructure in the film with increasing thickness has been explained vis-à-vis dislocation generation and growth mechanisms. Orientation imaging microscopy observations indicate evolutionary growth of film by overgrowth mechanism. Decrease in coercivity with film thickness has been explained as an interplay between stress field developed due to crystal defects and magnetic domain pinning due to surface roughness.

Structure of screw dislocation core in Ta at high pressure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Shaofeng, E-mail: sfwang@cqu.edu.cn; Jiang, Na; Wang, Rui

2014-03-07

The core structure and Peierls stress of the 1/2 〈111〉(110) screw dislocation in Ta have been investigated theoretically using the modified Peierls–Nabarro theory that takes into account the discreteness effect of crystal. The lattice constants, the elastic properties, and the generalized-stacking-fault energy(γ-surface) under the different pressures have been calculated from the electron density functional theory. The core structure of dislocation is determined by the modified Peierls equation, and the Peierls stress is evaluated from the dislocation energy that varies periodically as dislocation moves. The results show the core width and Peierls stress in Ta are weakly dependent of the pressuremore » up to 100 GPa when the length and stress are measured separately by the Burgers vector b and shear modulus μ. This indicates that core structure is approximately scaling invariant for the screw dislocation in Ta. The scaled plasticity of Ta changes little in high pressure environment.« less

Constitutive modeling of intrinsic and oxygen-contaminated silicon monocrystals in easy glide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cochard, J.; Yonenaga, I.; Gouttebroze, S.; M'Hamdi, M.; Zhang, Z. L.

2010-11-01

We generalize in this work the constitutive model for silicon crystals of Alexander and Haasen. Strain-rate and temperature dependency of the mechanical behavior of intrinsic crystals are correctly accounted for into stage I of hardening. We show that the steady-state of deformation in stage I is very well reproduced in a wide range of temperature and strain rate. The case of extrinsic crystals containing high levels of dissolved oxygen is examined. The introduction of an effective density of mobile dislocations dependent on the unlocking stress created by oxygen atoms gathered at the dislocation cores is combined to an alteration of the dislocation multiplication rate, due to pinning of the dislocation line by oxygen atoms. This increases the upper yield stress with the bulk oxygen concentration in agreement with experimental observations. The fraction of effectively mobile dislocations is found to decay exponentially with the unlocking stress. Finally, the influence of oxygen migration back onto the dislocations from the bulk on the stress distribution in silicon bars is investigated.

Statistical description of the motion of dislocation kinks in a random field of impurities adsorbed by a dislocation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Petukhov, B. V., E-mail: petukhov@ns.crys.ras.r

2010-01-15

A model has been proposed for describing the influence of impurities adsorbed by dislocation cores on the mobility of dislocation kinks in materials with a high crystalline relief (Peierls barriers). The delay time spectrum of kinks at statistical fluctuations of the impurity density has been calculated for a sufficiently high energy of interaction between impurities and dislocations when the migration potential is not reduced to a random Gaussian potential. It has been shown that fluctuations in the impurity distribution substantially change the character of the migration of dislocation kinks due to the slow decrease in the probability of long delaymore » times. The dependences of the position of the boundary of the dynamic phase transition to a sublinear drift of kinks x {proportional_to} t{sup {delta}} ({delta} {sigma} 1) and the characteristics of the anomalous mobility on the physical parameters (stress, impurity concentration, experimental temperature, etc.) have been calculated.« less

Precipitation Behavior of Magnesium Alloys Containing Neodymium and Yttrium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Solomon, Ellen L. S.

Magnesium is the lightest of the structural metals and has great potential for reducing the weight of transportation systems, which in turn reduces harmful emissions and improves fuel economy. Due to the inherent softness of Mg, other elements are typically added in order to form a fine distribution of precipitates during aging, which improves the strength by acting as barriers to moving dislocations. Mg-RE alloys are unique among other Mg alloys because they form precipitates that lie parallel to the prismatic planes of the Mg matrix, which is an ideal orientation to hinder dislocation slip. However, RE elements are expensive and impractical for many commercial applications, motivating the rapid design of alternative alloy compositions with comparable mechanical properties. Yet in order to design new alloys reproducing some of the beneficial properties of Mg-RE alloys, we must first fully understand precipitation in these systems. Therefore, the main objectives of this thesis are to identify the roles of specific RE elements (Nd and Y) on precipitation and to relate the precipitate microstructure to the alloy strength. The alloys investigated in this thesis are the Mg-Nd, Mg-Y, and Mg-Y-Nd systems, which contain the main alloying elements of commercial WE series alloys (Y and Nd). In all three alloy systems, a sequence of metastable phases forms upon aging. Precipitate composition, atomic structure, morphology, and spatial distribution are strongly controlled by the elastic strain energy originating from the misfitting coherent precipitates. The dominating role that strain energy plays in these alloy systems gives rise to very unique microstructures. The evolution of the hardness and precipitate microstructure with aging revealed that metastable phases are the primary strengthening phases of these alloys, and interact with dislocations by shearing. Our understanding of precipitation mechanisms and commonalities among the Mg-RE alloys provide future avenues to apply more efficient and targeted alloy design.

Electron microscopy of iron chalcogenide FeTe(Se) films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shchichko, I. O.; Presnyakov, M. Yu.; Stepantsov, E. A.; Kazakov, S. M.; Antipov, E. V.; Makarova, I. P.; Vasil'ev, A. L.

2015-05-01

The structure of Fe1 + δTe1 - x Se x films ( x = 0; 0.05) grown on single-crystal MgO and LaAlO3 substrates has been investigated by transmission and scanning transmission electron microscopy. The study of Fe1.11Te/MgO structures has revealed two crystallographic orientation relationships between the film and substrate. It is shown that the lattice mismatch between the film and substrate is compensated for by the formation of misfit dislocations. The Burgers vector projection is determined. The stresses in the film can partially be compensated for due to the formation of an intermediate disordered layer. It is shown that a FeTe0.5Se0.5 film grown on a LaAlO3 substrate is single-crystal and that the FeTe0.5Se0.5/LaAlO3 interface in a selected region is coherent. The orientation relationships between the film and substrate are also determined for this case.

Design of Al-rich AlGaN quantum well structures for efficient UV emitters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Funato, Mitsuru; Ichikawa, Shuhei; Kumamoto, Kyosuke; Kawakami, Yoichi

2017-02-01

The effects of the structure design of AlGaN-based quantum wells (QWs) on the optical properties are discussed. We demonstrate that to achieve efficient emission in the germicidal wavelength range (250 - 280 nm), AlxGa1-xN QWs in an AlyGa1-yN matrix (x < y) is quite effective, compared with those in an AlN matrix: Time-resolved photoluminescence and cathodoluminescence spectroscopies show that the AlyGa1-yN matrix can enhance the radiative recombination process and can prevent misfit dislocations, which act as non-radiative recombination centers, from being induced in the QW interface. As a result, the emission intensity at room temperature is about 2.7 times larger for the AlxGa1-xN QW in the AlyGa1-yN matrix than that in the AlN matrix. We also point out that further reduction of point defects is crucial to achieve an even higher emission efficiency.

Growth of quantum three-dimensional structure of InGaAs emitting at 1 μm applicable for a broadband near-infrared light source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ozaki, Nobuhiko; Kanehira, Shingo; Hayashi, Yuma; Ohkouchi, Shunsuke; Ikeda, Naoki; Sugimoto, Yoshimasa; Hogg, Richard A.

2017-11-01

We obtained a high-intensity and broadband emission centered at 1 μm from InGaAs quantum three-dimensional (3D) structures grown on a GaAs substrate using molecular beam epitaxy. An InGaAs thin layer grown on GaAs with a thickness close to the critical layer thickness is normally affected by strain as a result of the lattice mismatch and introduced misfit dislocations. However, under certain growth conditions for the In concentration and growth temperature, the growth mode of the InGaAs layer can be transformed from two-dimensional to 3D growth. We found the optimal conditions to obtain a broadband emission from 3D structures with a high intensity and controlled center wavelength at 1 μm. This method offers an alternative approach for fabricating a broadband near-infrared light source for telecommunication and medical imaging systems such as for optical coherence tomography.

Artifacts introduced by ion milling in Al-Li-Cu alloys.

PubMed

Singh, A K; Imam, M A; Sadananda, K

1988-04-01

Ion milling is commonly used to prepare specimens for observation under transmission electron microscope (TEM). This technique sometimes introduces artifacts in specimens contributing to misleading interpretation of TEM results as observed in the present investigation of Al-Li-Cu alloys. This type of alloy, in general, contains several kinds of precipitates, namely delta', T1, and theta'. It is found that ion milling even for a short time produces drastic changes in the precipitate characteristics as compared to standard electropolishing methods of specimen preparation for TEM. Careful analysis of selected area diffraction patterns and micrographs shows that after ion milling delta' precipitates are very irregular, whereas other precipitates coarsen and they are surrounded by misfit dislocations. In situ hot-stage TEM experiments were performed to relate the microstructure to that observed in the ion-milled specimen. Results and causes of ion milling effects on the microstructure are discussed in relation to standard electropolishing techniques and in situ hot-stage experiment.

Assessment of the microstructure evolution of an austempered ductile iron during austempering process through strain hardening analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Donnini, Riccardo; Fabrizi, Alberto; Bonollo, Franco; Zanardi, Franco; Angella, Giuliano

2017-09-01

The aim of this investigation was to determine a procedure based on tensile testing to assess the critical range of austempering times for having the best ausferrite produced through austempering. The austempered ductile iron (ADI) 1050 was quenched at different times during austempering and the quenched samples were tested in tension. The dislocation-density-related constitutive equation proposed by Estrin for materials having high density of geometrical obstacles to dislocation motion, was used to model the flow curves of the tensile tested samples. On the basis of strain hardening theory, the equation parameters were related to the microstructure of the quenched samples and were used to assess the ADI microstructure evolution during austempering. The microstructure evolution was also analysed through conventional optical microscopy, electron back-scattered diffraction technique and transmission electron microscopy. The microstructure observations resulted to be consistent with the assessment based on tensile testing, so the dislocation-density-related constitutive equation was found to be a powerful tool to characterise the evolution of the solid state transformations of austempering.

Mechanical properties and microstructures of Al-Cu Thin films with various heat treatments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joo, Young-Chang

1998-10-01

The relationship between microstructure and mechanical properties has been investigated in Al-Cu thin films. The Cu content in Al-Cu samples used in this study ranges from 0 to 2 wt.% and substrate curvature measurement was used to measure film stress. In thin films, the constraints on the film by the substrate influence the microstructure and mechanical properties. Al-Cu thin films cooled from high temperatures have a large density of dislocations due to the plastic deformation caused by the thermal mismatch between the film and substrate. The high density of dislocations in the thin film enables precipitates to form inside the grain even during a very rapid quenching. The presence of a large density of dislocations and precipitates will in turn cause precipitation hardening of the Al-Cu films. The precipitation hardening is dominant at lower temperatures, and solid solution hardening is observed at higher temperatures in the tensile regime. Pure Al films showed the same values of tensile and compressive yield stresses at a given temperature during stress-temperature cycling.

Comparative study on hydrostatic strain, stress and dislocation density of Al{sub 0.3}Ga{sub 0.7}N/GaN heterostructure before and after a-Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} passivation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dinara, Syed Mukulika, E-mail: smdinara.iit@gmail.com; Jana, Sanjay Kr.; Mukhopadhyay, Partha

2015-08-28

The hydrostatic strain, stress and dislocation densities were comparatively analyzed before and after passivation of amorphous silicon nitride (a-Si{sub 3}N{sub 4}) layer on Al{sub 0.3}Ga{sub 0.7}N/GaN heterostructure by nondestructive high resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD) technique. The crystalline quality, in-plane and out-of plane strain were evaluated from triple-axis (TA) (ω-2θ) diffraction profile across the (002) reflection plane and double-axis (DA) (ω-2θ) glancing incidence (GI) diffraction profile across (105) reflection plane. The hydrostatic strain and stress of Al{sub 0.3}Ga{sub 0.7}N barrier layer were increased significantly after passivation and both are tensile in nature. The dislocation density of GaN was also analyzed andmore » no significant change was observed after passivation of the heterostructure. The crystalline quality was not degraded after passivation on the heterostructure confirmed by the full-width-half-maximum (FWHM) analysis.« less

Quality-enhanced In{sub 0.3}Ga{sub 0.7}As film grown on GaAs substrate with an ultrathin amorphous In{sub 0.6}Ga{sub 0.4}As buffer layer

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gao, Fangliang; Li, Guoqiang, E-mail: msgli@scut.edu.cn

2014-01-27

Using low-temperature molecular beam epitaxy, amorphous In{sub 0.6}Ga{sub 0.4}As layers have been grown on GaAs substrates to act as buffer layers for the subsequent epitaxial growth of In{sub 0.3}Ga{sub 0.7}As films. It is revealed that the crystallinity of as-grown In{sub 0.3}Ga{sub 0.7}As films is strongly affected by the thickness of the large-mismatched amorphous In{sub 0.6}Ga{sub 0.4}As buffer layer. Given an optimized thickness of 2 nm, this amorphous In{sub 0.6}Ga{sub 0.4}As buffer layer can efficiently release the misfit strain between the In{sub 0.3}Ga{sub 0.7}As epi-layer and the GaAs substrate, trap the threading and misfit dislocations from propagating to the following In{sub 0.3}Ga{submore » 0.7}As epi-layer, and reduce the surface fluctuation of the as-grown In{sub 0.3}Ga{sub 0.7}As, leading to a high-quality In{sub 0.3}Ga{sub 0.7}As film with competitive crystallinity to that grown on GaAs substrate using compositionally graded In{sub x}Ga{sub 1-x}As metamorphic buffer layers. Considering the complexity of the application of the conventional In{sub x}Ga{sub 1-x}As graded buffer layers, this work demonstrates a much simpler approach to achieve high-quality In{sub 0.3}Ga{sub 0.7}As film on GaAs substrate and, therefore, is of huge potential for the InGaAs-based high-efficiency photovoltaic industry.« less

New types of high field pinning centers and pinning centers for the peak effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gajda, Daniel; Zaleski, Andrzej; Morawski, Andrzej; Hossain, Md Shahriar A.

2017-08-01

In this article, we report the results of a study that shows the existence of pinning centers inside grains and between grains in NbTi wires. We accurately show the ranges of magnetic fields in which the individual pinning centers operate. The pinning centers inside grains are activated in high magnetic fields above 6 T. We show the range of magnetic fields in which individual defects, dislocations, precipitates inside grains and substitutions in the crystal lattice can operate. We show the existence of a new kind of high field pinning center, which operates in high magnetic fields from 8 to ˜9.5 T. We indicate that dislocations create pinning centers in the range of magnetic fields from 6 to 8 T. In addition, our measurements suggest that the peak effect (increased critical current density (J c) near the upper critical field (B c2)) could be attributed to martensitic (needle-shaped) α‧-Ti inclusions inside grains. These centers are very important because they work very effectively in magnetic fields above 9.5-10 T. We also show that the α-Ti precipitates (between grains) with a thickness similar to the coherence length create pinning centers which work very effectively in magnetic fields from 3 to 6 T. In magnetic fields below 3 T, they act very efficiently in grain boundaries. The measurements indicate that the pinning centers created by dislocations only can be tested by transport measurements. This indicates that dislocations do not increase the magnetic critical current density (J cm). Cold drawing improves pinning centers at grain boundaries and increases the dislocation density, and cold-drawing pinning centers are responsible for the peak effect.

Role of dislocations and carrier concentration in limiting the electron mobility of InN films grown by plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tangi, Malleswararao; De, Arpan; Shivaprasad, S. M.

2018-01-01

We report the molecular beam epitaxy growth of device quality InN films on GaN epilayer and nano-wall network (NWN) templates deposited on c-sapphire by varying the film thickness up to 1 μm. The careful experiments are directed towards obtaining high mobility InN layers having a low band gap with improved crystal quality. The dislocation density is quantified by using high resolution X-ray diffraction rocking curve broadening values of symmetric and asymmetric reflections, respectively. We observe that the dislocation density of the InN films grown on GaN NWN is less than that of the films grown on the GaN epilayer. This is attributed to the nanoepitaxial lateral overlayer growth (ELOG) process, where the presence of voids at the interface of InN/GaN NWN prevents the propagation of dislocation lines into the InN epilayers, thereby causing less defects in the overgrown InN films. Thus, this new adaptation of the nano-ELOG growth process enables us to prepare InN layers with high electron mobility. The obtained electron mobility of 2121 cm2/Vs for 1 μm thick InN/GaN NWN is comparable with the literature values of similar thickness InN films. Furthermore, in order to understand the reasons that limit electron mobility, the charge neutrality condition is employed to study the variation of electron mobility as a function of dislocation density and carrier concentration. Overall, this study provides a route to attaining improved crystal quality and electronic properties of InN films.

Measurement of the rotational misfit and implant-abutment gap of all-ceramic abutments.

PubMed

Garine, Wael N; Funkenbusch, Paul D; Ercoli, Carlo; Wodenscheck, Joseph; Murphy, William C

2007-01-01

The specific aims of this study were to measure the implant and abutment hexagonal dimensions, to measure the rotational misfit between implant and abutments, and to correlate the dimension of the gap present between the abutment and implant hexagons with the rotational misfit of 5 abutment-implant combinations from 2 manufacturers. Twenty new externally hexed implants (n = 10 for Nobel Biocare; n = 10 for Biomet/3i) and 50 new abutments were used (n = 10; Procera Zirconia; Procera Alumina; Esthetic Ceramic Abutment; ZiReal; and GingiHue post ZR Zero Rotation abutments). The mating surfaces of all implants and abutments were imaged with a scanning electron microscope before and after rotational misfit measurements. The distances between the corners and center of the implant and abutment hexagon were calculated by entering their x and y coordinates, measured on a measuring microscope, into Pythagoras' theorem. The dimensional difference between abutment and implant hexagons was calculated and correlated with the rotational misfit, which was recorded using a precision optical encoder. Each abutment was rotated (3 times/session) clockwise and counterclockwise until binding. Analysis of variance and Student-Newman-Keuls tests were used to compare rotational misfit among groups (alpha = .05). With respect to rotational misfit, the abutment groups were significantly different from one another (P < .001), with the exception of the Procera Zirconia and Esthetic Ceramic groups (P = .4). The mean rotational misfits in degrees were 4.13 +/- 0.68 for the Procera Zirconia group, 3.92 +/- 0.62 for the Procera Alumina group, 4.10 +/- 0.67 for the Esthetic Ceramic group, 3.48 +/- 0.40 for the ZiReal group, and 1.61 +/- 0.24 for the GingiHue post ZR group. There was no correlation between the mean implant-abutment gap and rotational misfit. Within the limits of this study, machining inconsistencies of the hexagons were found for all implants and abutments tested. The GingiHue Post showed the smallest rotational misfit. All-ceramic abutments without a metal collar showed a greater rotational misfit than those with a metal collar.

Practical Consequences of Item Response Theory Model Misfit in the Context of Test Equating with Mixed-Format Test Data

PubMed Central

Zhao, Yue; Hambleton, Ronald K.

2017-01-01

In item response theory (IRT) models, assessing model-data fit is an essential step in IRT calibration. While no general agreement has ever been reached on the best methods or approaches to use for detecting misfit, perhaps the more important comment based upon the research findings is that rarely does the research evaluate IRT misfit by focusing on the practical consequences of misfit. The study investigated the practical consequences of IRT model misfit in examining the equating performance and the classification of examinees into performance categories in a simulation study that mimics a typical large-scale statewide assessment program with mixed-format test data. The simulation study was implemented by varying three factors, including choice of IRT model, amount of growth/change of examinees’ abilities between two adjacent administration years, and choice of IRT scaling methods. Findings indicated that the extent of significant consequences of model misfit varied over the choice of model and IRT scaling methods. In comparison with mean/sigma (MS) and Stocking and Lord characteristic curve (SL) methods, separate calibration with linking and fixed common item parameter (FCIP) procedure was more sensitive to model misfit and more robust against various amounts of ability shifts between two adjacent administrations regardless of model fit. SL was generally the least sensitive to model misfit in recovering equating conversion and MS was the least robust against ability shifts in recovering the equating conversion when a substantial degree of misfit was present. The key messages from the study are that practical ways are available to study model fit, and, model fit or misfit can have consequences that should be considered when choosing an IRT model. Not only does the study address the consequences of IRT model misfit, but also it is our hope to help researchers and practitioners find practical ways to study model fit and to investigate the validity of particular IRT models for achieving a specified purpose, to assure that the successful use of the IRT models are realized, and to improve the applications of IRT models with educational and psychological test data. PMID:28421011

Contributions of Cu-rich clusters, dislocation loops and nanovoids to the irradiation-induced hardening of Cu-bearing low-Ni reactor pressure vessel steels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bergner, F.; Gillemot, F.; Hernández-Mayoral, M.; Serrano, M.; Török, G.; Ulbricht, A.; Altstadt, E.

2015-06-01

Dislocation loops, nanovoids and Cu-rich clusters (CRPs) are known to represent obstacles for dislocation glide in neutron-irradiated reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steels, but a consistent experimental determination of the respective obstacle strengths is still missing. A set of Cu-bearing low-Ni RPV steels and model alloys was characterized by means of SANS and TEM in order to specify mean size and number density of loops, nanovoids and CRPs. The obstacle strengths of these families were estimated by solving an over-determined set of linear equations. We have found that nanovoids are stronger than loops and loops are stronger than CRPs. Nevertheless, CRPs contribute most to irradiation hardening because of their high number density. Nanovoids were only observed for neutron fluences beyond typical end-of-life conditions of RPVs. The estimates of the obstacle strength are critically compared with reported literature data.

Understanding self ion damage in FCC Ni-Cr-Fe based alloy using X-ray diffraction techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halder Banerjee, R.; Sengupta, P.; Chatterjee, A.; Mishra, S. C.; Bhukta, A.; Satyam, P. V.; Samajdar, I.; Dey, G. K.

2018-04-01

Using X-ray diffraction line profile analysis (XRDLPA) approach the radiation response of FCC Ni-Cr-Fe based alloy 690 to 1.5 and 3 MeV Ni2+ ion damage was quantified in terms of its microstructural parameters. These microstructural parameters viz. average domain size, microstrain and dislocation density were found to vary anisotropically with fluence. The anisotropic behaviour is mainly attributable to presence of twins in pre-irradiated microstructure. After irradiation, surface roughness increases as a function of fluence attributable to change in surface and sub-surface morphology caused by displacement cascade, defects and sputtered atoms created by incident energetic ion. The radiation hardening in case of 1.5 MeV Ni2+ irradiated specimens too is a consequence of the increase in dislocation density formed by interaction of radiation induced defects with pre-existing dislocations. At highest fluence there is an initiation of saturation.

Implementation and application of a gradient enhanced crystal plasticity model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soyarslan, C.; Perdahcıoǧlu, E. S.; Aşık, E. E.; van den Boogaard, A. H.; Bargmann, S.

2017-10-01

A rate-independent crystal plasticity model is implemented in which description of the hardening of the material is given as a function of the total dislocation density. The evolution of statistically stored dislocations (SSDs) is described using a saturating type evolution law. The evolution of geometrically necessary dislocations (GNDs) on the other hand is described using the gradient of the plastic strain tensor in a non-local manner. The gradient of the incremental plastic strain tensor is computed explicitly during an implicit FE simulation after each converged step. Using the plastic strain tensor stored as state variables at each integration point and an efficient numerical algorithm to find the gradients, the GND density is obtained. This results in a weak coupling of the equilibrium solution and the gradient enhancement. The algorithm is applied to an academic test problem which considers growth of a cylindrical void in a single crystal matrix.

Elastic precursor wave decay in shock-compressed aluminum over a wide range of temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Austin, Ryan A.

2018-01-01

The effect of temperature on the dynamic flow behavior of aluminum is considered in the context of precursor wave decay measurements and simulations. In this regard, a dislocation-based model of high-rate metal plasticity is brought into agreement with previous measurements of evolving wave profiles at 300 to 933 K, wherein the amplification of the precursor structure with temperature arises naturally from the dislocation mechanics treatment. The model suggests that the kinetics of inelastic flow and stress relaxation are governed primarily by phonon scattering and radiative damping (sound wave emission from dislocation cores), both of which intensify with temperature. The manifestation of these drag effects is linked to low dislocation density ahead of the precursor wave and the high mobility of dislocations in the face-centered cubic lattice. Simulations performed using other typical models of shock wave plasticity do not reproduce the observed temperature-dependence of elastic/plastic wave structure.

Irradiation defect dispersions and effective dislocation mobility in strained ferritic grains: A statistical analysis based on 3D dislocation dynamics simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Y.; Robertson, C.

2018-06-01

The influence of irradiation defect dispersions on plastic strain spreading is investigated by means of three-dimensional dislocation dynamics (DD) simulations, accounting for thermally activated slip and cross-slip mechanisms in Fe-2.5%Cr grains. The defect-induced evolutions of the effective screw dislocation mobility are evaluated by means of statistical comparisons, for various defect number density and defect size cases. Each comparison is systematically associated with a quantitative Defect-Induced Apparent Straining Temperature shift (or «ΔDIAT»), calculated without any adjustable parameters. In the investigated cases, the ΔDIAT level associated with a given defect dispersion closely replicates the measured ductile to brittle transition temperature shift (ΔDBTT) due to the same, actual defect dispersion. The results are further analyzed in terms of dislocation-based plasticity mechanisms and their possible relations with the dose-dependent changes of the ductile to brittle transition temperature.

Neutron irradiation effects in Fe and Fe-Cr at 300 °C

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, Wei-Ying; Miao, Yinbin; Gan, Jian

2016-06-01

Fe and Fe-Cr (Cr = 10–16 at.%) specimens were neutron-irradiated at 300 °C to 0.01, 0.1 and 1 dpa. The TEM observations indicated that the Cr significantly reduced the mobility of dislocation loops and suppressed vacancy clustering, leading to distinct damage microstructures between Fe and Fe-Cr. Irradiation-induced dislocation loops in Fe were heterogeneously observed in the vicinity of grown-in dislocations, whereas the loop distribution observed in Fe-Cr is much more uniform. Voids were observed in the irradiated Fe samples, but not in irradiated Fe-Cr samples. Increasing Cr content in Fe-Cr results in a higher density, and a smaller size ofmore » irradiation-induced dislocation loops. Orowan mechanism was used to correlate the observed microstructure and hardening, which showed that the hardening in Fe-Cr can be attributed to the formation of dislocation loops and α' precipitates.« less

Dislocation-pipe diffusion in nitride superlattices observed in direct atomic resolution.

PubMed

Garbrecht, Magnus; Saha, Bivas; Schroeder, Jeremy L; Hultman, Lars; Sands, Timothy D

2017-04-06

Device failure from diffusion short circuits in microelectronic components occurs via thermally induced migration of atoms along high-diffusivity paths: dislocations, grain boundaries, and free surfaces. Even well-annealed single-grain metallic films contain dislocation densities of about 10 14  m -2 ; hence dislocation-pipe diffusion (DPD) becomes a major contribution at working temperatures. While its theoretical concept was established already in the 1950s and its contribution is commonly measured using indirect tracer, spectroscopy, or electrical methods, no direct observation of DPD at the atomic level has been reported. We present atomically-resolved electron microscopy images of the onset and progression of diffusion along threading dislocations in sequentially annealed nitride metal/semiconductor superlattices, and show that this type of diffusion can be independent of concentration gradients in the system but governed by the reduction of strain fields in the lattice.

Synchrotron radiation x-ray topography and defect selective etching analysis of threading dislocations in GaN

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sintonen, Sakari, E-mail: sakari.sintonen@aalto.fi; Suihkonen, Sami; Jussila, Henri

2014-08-28

The crystal quality of bulk GaN crystals is continuously improving due to advances in GaN growth techniques. Defect characterization of the GaN substrates by conventional methods is impeded by the very low dislocation density and a large scale defect analysis method is needed. White beam synchrotron radiation x-ray topography (SR-XRT) is a rapid and non-destructive technique for dislocation analysis on a large scale. In this study, the defect structure of an ammonothermal c-plane GaN substrate was recorded using SR-XRT and the image contrast caused by the dislocation induced microstrain was simulated. The simulations and experimental observations agree excellently and themore » SR-XRT image contrasts of mixed and screw dislocations were determined. Apart from a few exceptions, defect selective etching measurements were shown to correspond one to one with the SR-XRT results.« less

Stair-rod dislocation cores acting as one-dimensional charge channels in GaAs nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bologna, Nicolas; Agrawal, Piyush; Campanini, Marco; Knödler, Moritz; Rossell, Marta D.; Erni, Rolf; Passerone, Daniele

2018-01-01

Aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy and density-functional theory calculations have been used to investigate the atomic and electronic structure of stair-rod dislocations connected via stacking faults in GaAs nanowires. At the apexes, two distinct dislocation cores consisting of single-column pairs of either gallium or arsenic were identified. Ab initio calculations reveal an overall reduction in the energy gap with the development of two bands of filled and empty localized states at the edges of valence and conduction bands in the Ga core and in the As core, respectively. Our results suggest the behavior of stair-rod dislocations along the nanowire as one-dimensional charge channels, which could host free carriers upon appropriate doping.

Crystal plasticity investigation of the microstructural factors influencing dislocation channeling in a model irradiated bcc material

DOE PAGES

Patra, Anirban; McDowell, David L.

2016-03-25

We use a continuum crystal plasticity framework to study the effect of microstructure and mesoscopic factors on dislocation channeling and flow localization in an irradiated model bcc alloy. For simulated dislocation channeling characteristics we correlate the dislocation and defect densities in the substructure, local Schmid factor, and stress triaxiality, in terms of their temporal and spatial evolution. A metric is introduced to assess the propensity for localization and is correlated to the grain-level Schmid factor. We also found that localization generally takes place in grains with a local Schmid factor in the range 0.42 or higher. Surface slip step heightsmore » are computed at free surfaces and compared to relevant experiments.« less

Effects of temperature on the irradiation responses of Al 0.1 CoCrFeNi high entropy alloy

DOE PAGES

Yang, Tengfei; Xia, Songqin; Guo, Wei; ...

2017-09-29

Structural damage and chemical segregation in Al 0.1CoCrFeNi high entropy alloy irradiated at elevated temperatures are studied using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atom probe tomography (APT). Irradiation-induced defects include dislocation loops, long dislocations and stacking-fault tetrahedra, but no voids can be observed. Furthermore, as irradiation temperature increases, defect density is decreased but defect size is increased, which is induced by increasing defect mobility. Finally, APT characterization reveals that ion irradiation at elevated temperatures can induce an enrichment of Ni and Co as well as a depletion of Fe and Cr at defect clusters, mainly including dislocation loops and longmore » dislocations.« less

Effects of temperature on the irradiation responses of Al 0.1 CoCrFeNi high entropy alloy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yang, Tengfei; Xia, Songqin; Guo, Wei

Structural damage and chemical segregation in Al 0.1CoCrFeNi high entropy alloy irradiated at elevated temperatures are studied using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atom probe tomography (APT). Irradiation-induced defects include dislocation loops, long dislocations and stacking-fault tetrahedra, but no voids can be observed. Furthermore, as irradiation temperature increases, defect density is decreased but defect size is increased, which is induced by increasing defect mobility. Finally, APT characterization reveals that ion irradiation at elevated temperatures can induce an enrichment of Ni and Co as well as a depletion of Fe and Cr at defect clusters, mainly including dislocation loops and longmore » dislocations.« less

Defect sensitive etching of hexagonal boron nitride single crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edgar, J. H.; Liu, S.; Hoffman, T.; Zhang, Yichao; Twigg, M. E.; Bassim, Nabil D.; Liang, Shenglong; Khan, Neelam

2017-12-01

Defect sensitive etching (DSE) was developed to estimate the density of non-basal plane dislocations in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) single crystals. The crystals employed in this study were precipitated by slowly cooling (2-4 °C/h) a nickel-chromium flux saturated with hBN from 1500 °C under 1 bar of flowing nitrogen. On the (0001) planes, hexagonal-shaped etch pits were formed by etching the crystals in a eutectic mixture of NaOH and KOH between 450 °C and 525 °C for 1-2 min. There were three types of pits: pointed bottom, flat bottom, and mixed shape pits. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy revealed that the pointed bottom etch pits examined were associated with threading dislocations. All of these dislocations had an a-type burgers vector (i.e., they were edge dislocations, since the line direction is perpendicular to the [ 2 11 ¯ 0 ]-type direction). The pit widths were much wider than the pit depths as measured by atomic force microscopy, indicating the lateral etch rate was much faster than the vertical etch rate. From an Arrhenius plot of the log of the etch rate versus the inverse temperature, the activation energy was approximately 60 kJ/mol. This work demonstrates that DSE is an effective method for locating threading dislocations in hBN and estimating their densities.

Dislocation based controlling of kinematic hardening contribution to simulate primary and secondary stages of uniaxial ratcheting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhattacharjee, S.; Dhar, S.; Acharyya, S. K.

2017-07-01

The primary and secondary stages of the uniaxial ratcheting curve for the C-Mn steel SA333 have been investigated. Stress controlled uniaxial ratcheting experiments were conducted with different mean stresses and stress amplitudes to obtain curves showing the evolution of ratcheting strain with number of cycles. In stage-I of the ratcheting curve, a large accumulation of ratcheting strain occurs, but at a decreasing rate. In contrast, in stage-II a smaller accumulation of ratcheting strain is found and the ratcheting rate becomes almost constant. Transmission electron microscope observations reveal that no specific dislocation structures are developed during the early stages of ratcheting. Rather, compared with the case of low cycle fatigue, it is observed that sub-cell formation is delayed in the case of ratcheting. The increase in dislocation density as a result of the ratcheting strain is obtained using the Orowan equation. The ratcheting strain is obtained from the shift of the plastic strain memory surface. The dislocation rearrangement is incorporated in a functional form of dislocation density, which is used to calibrate the parameters of a kinematic hardening law. The observations are formulated in a material model, plugged into the ABAQUS finite element (FE) platform as a user material subroutine. Finally the FE-simulated ratcheting curves are compared with the experimental curves.

Analysis of Mesa Dislocation Gettering in HgCdTe/CdTe/Si(211) by Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacobs, R. N.; Stoltz, A. J.; Benson, J. D.; Smith, P.; Lennon, C. M.; Almeida, L. A.; Farrell, S.; Wijewarnasuriya, P. S.; Brill, G.; Chen, Y.; Salmon, M.; Zu, J.

2013-11-01

Due to its strong infrared absorption and variable band-gap, HgCdTe is the ideal detector material for high-performance infrared focal-plane arrays (IRFPAs). Next-generation IRFPAs will utilize dual-color high-definition formats on large-area substrates such as Si or GaAs. However, heteroepitaxial growth on these substrates is plagued by high densities of lattice-mismatch-induced threading dislocations (TDs) that ultimately reduce IRFPA operability. Previously we demonstrated a postgrowth technique with the potential to eliminate or move TDs such that they have less impact on detector operability. In this technique, highly reticulated mesa structures are produced in as-grown HgCdTe epilayers, and then subjected to thermal cycle annealing. To fully exploit this technique, better understanding of the inherent mechanism is required. In this work, we employ scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) analysis of HgCdTe/CdTe/Si(211) samples prepared by focused ion beam milling. A key factor is the use of defect-decorated samples, which allows for a correlation of etch pits observed on the surface with underlying dislocation segments viewed in cross-section STEM images. We perform an analysis of these dislocations in terms of the general distribution, density, and mobility at various locations within the mesa structures. Based on our observations, we suggest factors that contribute to the underlying mechanism for dislocation gettering.

Quantitative analysis of defects in silicon. Silicon sheet growth development for the large are silicon sheet task of the low-cost solar array project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Natesh, R.; Smith, J. M.; Bruce, T.; Oidwai, H. A.

1980-01-01

One hundred and seventy four silicon sheet samples were analyzed for twin boundary density, dislocation pit density, and grain boundary length. Procedures were developed for the quantitative analysis of the twin boundary and dislocation pit densities using a QTM-720 Quantitative Image Analyzing system. The QTM-720 system was upgraded with the addition of a PDP 11/03 mini-computer with dual floppy disc drive, a digital equipment writer high speed printer, and a field-image feature interface module. Three versions of a computer program that controls the data acquisition and analysis on the QTM-720 were written. Procedures for the chemical polishing and etching were also developed.

Passive Fit in Screw Retained Multi-unit Implant Prosthesis Understanding and Achieving: A Review of the Literature.

PubMed

Buzayan, Muaiyed Mahmoud; Yunus, Norsiah Binti

2014-03-01

One of the considerable challenges for screw-retained multi-unit implant prosthesis is achieving a passive fit of the prosthesis' superstructure to the implants. This passive fit is supposed to be one of the most vital requirements for the maintenance of the osseointegration. On the other hand, the misfit of the implant supported superstructure may lead to unfavourable complications, which can be mechanical or biological in nature. The manifestations of these complications may range from fracture of various components in the implant system, pain, marginal bone loss, and even loss of osseointegration. Thus, minimizing the misfit and optimizing the passive fit should be a prerequisite for implant survival and success. The purpose of this article is to present and summarize some aspects of the passive fit achieving and improving methods. The literature review was performed through Science Direct, Pubmed, and Google database. They were searched in English using the following combinations of keywords: passive fit, implant misfit and framework misfit. Articles were selected on the basis of whether they had sufficient information related to framework misfit's related factors, passive fit and its achievement techniques, marginal bone changes relation with the misfit, implant impression techniques and splinting concept. The related references were selected in order to emphasize the importance of the passive fit achievement and the misfit minimizing. Despite the fact that the literature presents considerable information regarding the framework's misfit, there was not consistency in literature on a specified number or even a range to be the acceptable level of misfit. On the other hand, a review of the literature revealed that the complete passive fit still remains a tricky goal to be achieved by the prosthodontist.

Web Growth Used to Confine Screw Dislocations to Predetermined Lateral Positions in 4H-SiC Epilayers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Powell, J. Anthony; Neudeck, Philip G.; Spry, David J.; Trunek, Andrew J.; Beheim, Glenn M.

2004-01-01

Silicon-carbide- (SiC-) based power devices could enable substantial aerospace electronics benefits over today's silicon-based electronics. However, present-day SiC wafers contain electrically harmful dislocations (including micropipes) that are unpredictably distributed in high densities across all commercial 4H- and 6H-SiC wafers. The NASA Glenn Research Center recently demonstrated a crystal growth process that moves SiC wafer dislocations to predetermined lateral positions in epitaxial layers so that they can be reproducibly avoided during subsequent SiC electronic device fabrication. The process starts by reactive ion etching mesa patterns with enclosed trench regions into commercial on-axis (0001) 4H- or 6H-SiC substrates. An example of a pregrowth mesa geometry with six enclosed triangular-shaped trench regions is shown. After the etch mask is stripped, homoepitaxial growth is carried out in pure stepflow conditions that enable thin cantilevers to grow laterally from the tops of mesas whose pregrowth top surfaces are not threaded by substrate screw dislocations. The image in the bottom figure shows the postgrowth structure that forms after the lateral cantilevers expand to coalesce and completely roof over each of the six triangular trench regions. Atomic force microscope (AFM) measurements of the roof revealed that three elementary screw dislocation growth spirals, each shown in the AFM insets of the bottom image on the previous page, formed in the film roof at three respective points of cantilever film coalescence. The image above shows the structure following an etch in molten potassium hydroxide (KOH) that produced surface etch pits at the dislocation defects. The larger KOH etch pits--S1, S2, and S3--shown in this image correspond to screw dislocations relocated to the final points of cantilever coalescence. The smaller KOH etch pits are consistent with epilayer threading edge dislocations from the pregrowth substrate mesa (P1, P3, and P4) and a final cantilever coalescence point (P2). No defects (i.e., no etch pits) are observed in other cantilevered portions of the film surface. On the basis of the principle of dislocation Burgers vector conservation, we hypothesize that all vertically propagating substrate dislocations in an enclosed trench region become combined into a single dislocation in the webbed film roof at the point of final roof coalescence. The point of final roof coalescence, and therefore the lateral location of a webbed roof dislocation, can be designed into the pregrowth mesa pattern. Screw dislocations with predetermined lateral positions can then be used to provide the new growth steps necessary for growing a 4H/6H-SiC epilayer with a lower dislocation density than the substrate. Devices fabricated on top of such films can be positioned to avoid the preplaced dislocations.

Effect of defects on the electrical/optical performance of gallium nitride based junction devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferdous, Mohammad Shahriar

Commercial GaN based electronic and optoelectronic devices possess a high density (107-109 cm-2) of threading dislocations (TDs) because of the large mismatch in the lattice constant and the thermal expansion coefficient between the epitaxial layer structure and the substrate. In spite of these dislocations, high brightness light emitting diodes (LEDs) utilizing InGaN or AlGaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) and with an external quantum efficiency of more than 40%, have already been achieved. This high external quantum efficiency in the presence of a high density of dislocations has been explained by carrier localization induced by indium fluctuations in the quantum well. TDs have been found to increase the reverse leakage current in InGaN based LEDs and to shorten the operating lifetime of InGaN MQW/GaN/AlGaN laser diodes. Thus it is important that the TD density is further reduced. It remains unclear how the TDs interact with the device to cause the effects mentioned above, hence the careful and precise characterization of threading defects and their effects on the electrical and optical performances of InGaN/GaN MQW LEDs is needed. This investigation will be useful not only from the point of view of device optimization but also to develop a clear understanding of the physical processes associated with TDs and especially with their effect on leakage current. We have employed photoelectrochemical (PEC) etching to accurately measure the dislocation density initially in home-grown GaN-based epitaxial structures and recently in InGaN/GaN MQW LEDs fabricated from commercial grade epitaxial structures that were supplied by our industrial collaborators. Measuring the electrical and electroluminescence (EL) characteristics of these devices has revealed correlations between some aspects of the LED behavior and the TD density, and promises to allow a deeper understanding of the role of threading dislocations to be elucidated. We observed that the LED reverse leakage current increased exponentially, and electroluminescence intensity decreased by 22%, as the TD density in the LEDs increased from 1.7 x 107 cm-2 to 2 x 108 cm-2. Forward voltage remained almost constant with the increase of TD density. A model of carrier conduction via hopping through defect related states, was found to provide an excellent fit to the experimental I-V data and provides a useful basis for understanding carrier conduction in the presence of TDs.

Abutment misfit in implant-supported prostheses manufactured by casting technique: An integrative review

PubMed Central

Pereira, Lorena M. S.; Sordi, Mariane B.; Magini, Ricardo S.; Calazans Duarte, Antônio R.; M. Souza, Júlio C.

2017-01-01

The aim of this study was to perform an integrative review of the literature on the clinically usual prosthesis-abutment misfit over implant-supported structures manufactured by conventional casting technique. The present integrative review used the PRISMA methodology. A bibliographical search was conducted on the following electronic databases: MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine), Scopus (Elsevier), ScienceDirect (Elsevier), Web of Science (Thomson Reuters Scientific), Latin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information (BIREME), and Virtual Health Library (BVS). A total of 11 relevant studies were selected for qualitative analysis. The prosthetic-abutment vertical misfit considered clinically usual ranged from 50 to 160 μm. The vertical misfit depends on several steps during technical manufacturing techniques, which includes the materials and technical procedures. Lower values in misfit are recorded when precious metal or titanium alloys are utilized. Although a vertical misfit mean value of 100 μm has been considered clinically usual, most of the previous studies included in this revision showed lower mean values. PMID:29279686

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kweon, Kyoung E.; Aberg, Daniel; Lordi, Vincenzo

The atomic and electronic structures of 60° glide perfect and 30°/90° glide partial dislocations in CdTe are studied using combined semi-empirical and density functional theory calculations. The calculations predict that the dislocation cores tend to undergo significant reconstructions along the dislocation lines from the singly-periodic (SP) structures, yielding either doubly-periodic (DP) ordering by forming a dimer or quadruply-periodic (QP) ordering by alternating a dimer and a missing dimer. Charge modulation along the dislocation line, accompanied by the QP reconstruction for the Cd-/Te-core 60° perfect and 30° partials or the DP reconstruction for the Cd-core 90° partial, results in semiconducting character,more » as opposed to the metallic character of the SP dislocation cores. Dislocation-induced defect states for the 60° Cd-/Te-core are located relatively close to the band edges, whereas the defect states lie in the middle of the band gap for the 30° Cd-/Te-core partial dislocations. In addition to the intracore charge modulation within each QP core, the possibility of intercore charge transfer between two different dislocation cores when they are paired together in the same system is discussed. As a result, the analysis of the electronic structures reveals the potential role of the dislocations on charge transport in CdTe, particularly in terms of charge trapping and recombination.« less

Predicted lattice-misfit stresses in a gallium-nitride (GaN) film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suhir, E.; Yi, S.

2017-02-01

Effective, easy-to-use and physically meaningful analytical predictive models are developed for the evaluation the lattice-misfit stresses (LMS) in a semiconductor film grown on a circular substrate (wafer). The two-dimensional (plane-stress) theory-of-elasticity approximation (TEA) is employed. First of all, the interfacial shearing stresses are evaluated. These stresses might lead to the occurrence and growth of dislocations, as well as to possible delaminations (adhesive strength of the assembly) and the elevated stress and strain in the buffering material, if any (cohesive strength of the assembly). Second of all, the normal radial and circumferential (tangential) stresses acting in the film cross-sections are determined. These stresses determine the short- and long-term strength (fracture toughness) of the film material. It is shown that while the normal stresses in the semiconductor film are independent of its thickness, the interfacial shearing stresses increase with an increase in the induced force (not stress!) acting in the film cross-sections, and that this force increases with an increase in the film thickness. This leads, for a thick enough film, to the occurrence, growth and propagation of dislocations. These start at the assembly ends and propagate, when the film thickness increases, inwards the structure. The TEA data are compared with the results obtained using a simplified strength-of-materials approach (SMA). This approach considers, instead of an actual circular assembly, an elongated bi-material rectangular strip of unit width and of finite length equal to the wafer diameter. The analysis, although applicable to any semiconductor crystal growth (SCG) technology is geared in this analysis to the Gallium-Nitride (GaN) technology. The numerical example is carried out for a GaN film grown on a Silicon Carbide (SiC) substrate. It is concluded that the SMA model is acceptable for understanding the physics of the state of stress and for the prediction of the normal stresses acting in the major mid-portion of the assembly. The SMA model underestimates, however, the maximum interfacial shearing stress at the assembly periphery, and, because of the very nature of the SMA, is unable to address the circumferential stress. This stress can be quite high at the circular boundary of the assembly. At the assembly edge the circumferential stress is as high as σθ = (2-ν1)σ1, i.e., by the factor of 2-ν1 higher than the normal stress, σ1, in the mid-portion of the film. In this formula, ν1 is Poisson's ratio of the film material.

Dislocation Strengthening without Ductility Trade-off in Metastable Austenitic Steels

PubMed Central

Liu, Jiabin; Jin, Yongbin; Fang, Xiaoyang; Chen, Chenxu; Feng, Qiong; Liu, Xiaowei; Chen, Yuzeng; Suo, Tao; Zhao, Feng; Huang, Tianlin; Wang, Hongtao; Wang, Xi; Fang, Youtong; Wei, Yujie; Meng, Liang; Lu, Jian; Yang, Wei

2016-01-01

Strength and ductility are mutually exclusive if they are manifested as consequence of the coupling between strengthening and toughening mechanisms. One notable example is dislocation strengthening in metals, which invariably leads to reduced ductility. However, this trend is averted in metastable austenitic steels. A one-step thermal mechanical treatment (TMT), i.e. hot rolling, can effectively enhance the yielding strength of the metastable austenitic steel from 322 ± 18 MPa to 675 ± 15 MPa, while retaining both the formability and hardenability. It is noted that no boundaries are introduced in the optimized TMT process and all strengthening effect originates from dislocations with inherited thermal stability. The success of this method relies on the decoupled strengthening and toughening mechanisms in metastable austenitic steels, in which yield strength is controlled by initial dislocation density while ductility is retained by the capability to nucleate new dislocations to carry plastic deformation. Especially, the simplicity in processing enables scaling and industrial applications to meet the challenging requirements of emissions reduction. On the other hand, the complexity in the underlying mechanism of dislocation strengthening in this case may shed light on a different route of material strengthening by stimulating dislocation activities, rather than impeding motion of dislocations. PMID:27739481

Dislocation Strengthening without Ductility Trade-off in Metastable Austenitic Steels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jiabin; Jin, Yongbin; Fang, Xiaoyang; Chen, Chenxu; Feng, Qiong; Liu, Xiaowei; Chen, Yuzeng; Suo, Tao; Zhao, Feng; Huang, Tianlin; Wang, Hongtao; Wang, Xi; Fang, Youtong; Wei, Yujie; Meng, Liang; Lu, Jian; Yang, Wei

2016-10-01

Strength and ductility are mutually exclusive if they are manifested as consequence of the coupling between strengthening and toughening mechanisms. One notable example is dislocation strengthening in metals, which invariably leads to reduced ductility. However, this trend is averted in metastable austenitic steels. A one-step thermal mechanical treatment (TMT), i.e. hot rolling, can effectively enhance the yielding strength of the metastable austenitic steel from 322 ± 18 MPa to 675 ± 15 MPa, while retaining both the formability and hardenability. It is noted that no boundaries are introduced in the optimized TMT process and all strengthening effect originates from dislocations with inherited thermal stability. The success of this method relies on the decoupled strengthening and toughening mechanisms in metastable austenitic steels, in which yield strength is controlled by initial dislocation density while ductility is retained by the capability to nucleate new dislocations to carry plastic deformation. Especially, the simplicity in processing enables scaling and industrial applications to meet the challenging requirements of emissions reduction. On the other hand, the complexity in the underlying mechanism of dislocation strengthening in this case may shed light on a different route of material strengthening by stimulating dislocation activities, rather than impeding motion of dislocations.

Dislocation Strengthening without Ductility Trade-off in Metastable Austenitic Steels.

PubMed

Liu, Jiabin; Jin, Yongbin; Fang, Xiaoyang; Chen, Chenxu; Feng, Qiong; Liu, Xiaowei; Chen, Yuzeng; Suo, Tao; Zhao, Feng; Huang, Tianlin; Wang, Hongtao; Wang, Xi; Fang, Youtong; Wei, Yujie; Meng, Liang; Lu, Jian; Yang, Wei

2016-10-14

Strength and ductility are mutually exclusive if they are manifested as consequence of the coupling between strengthening and toughening mechanisms. One notable example is dislocation strengthening in metals, which invariably leads to reduced ductility. However, this trend is averted in metastable austenitic steels. A one-step thermal mechanical treatment (TMT), i.e. hot rolling, can effectively enhance the yielding strength of the metastable austenitic steel from 322 ± 18 MPa to 675 ± 15 MPa, while retaining both the formability and hardenability. It is noted that no boundaries are introduced in the optimized TMT process and all strengthening effect originates from dislocations with inherited thermal stability. The success of this method relies on the decoupled strengthening and toughening mechanisms in metastable austenitic steels, in which yield strength is controlled by initial dislocation density while ductility is retained by the capability to nucleate new dislocations to carry plastic deformation. Especially, the simplicity in processing enables scaling and industrial applications to meet the challenging requirements of emissions reduction. On the other hand, the complexity in the underlying mechanism of dislocation strengthening in this case may shed light on a different route of material strengthening by stimulating dislocation activities, rather than impeding motion of dislocations.

Study of the possibility of growing germanium single crystals under low temperature gradients

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moskovskih, V. A.; Kasimkin, P. V.; Shlegel, V. N.; Vasiliev, Y. V.; Gridchin, V. A.; Podkopaev, O. I.; Zhdankov, V. N.

2014-03-01

The possibility of growing germanium single crystals under low temperature gradients in order to produce a dislocation-free material has been studied. Germanium crystals with a dislocation density of about 100-200 cm-2 have been grown in a system with a weight control of crystal growth at maximum axial gradients of about 1.5 K/cm.

An EBIC study of dislocation networks in unprocessed and unprocessed web silicon ribbon. [for solar cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fieldler, F. S.; Ast, D.

1982-01-01

Experimental techniques for the preparation of electron beam induced current samples of Web-dentritic silicon are described. Both as grown and processed material were investigated. High density dislocation networks were found close to twin planes in the bulk of the material. The electrical activity of these networks is reduced in processed material.

Possible origin of the discrepancy in Peierls stresses of fcc metals: First-principles simulations of dislocation mobility in aluminum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shin, Ilgyou; Carter, Emily A.

2013-08-01

Dislocation motion governs the strength and ductility of metals, and the Peierls stress (σp) quantifies dislocation mobility. σp measurements carry substantial uncertainty in face-centered cubic (fcc) metals, and σp values can differ by up to two orders of magnitude. We perform first-principles simulations based on orbital-free density functional theory (OFDFT) to calculate the most accurate currently possible σp for the motion of (1)/(2)<110>111 dislocations in fcc Al. We predict the σps of screw and edge dislocations (dissociated in their equilibrium state) to be 1.9×10-4G and 4.9×10-5G, respectively (G is the shear modulus). These values fall within the range of measurements from mechanical deformation tests (10-4-10-5G). OFDFT also finds a new metastable structure for a screw dislocation not seen in earlier simulations, in which a dislocation core on the glide plane does not dissociate into partials. The corresponding σp for this undissociated dislocation is predicted to be 1.1×10-2G, which agrees with typical Bordoni peak measurements (10-2-10-3G). The calculated σps for dissociated and undissociated screw dislocations differ by two orders of magnitude. The presence of undissociated, as well as dissociated, screw dislocations may resolve the decades-long mystery in fcc metals regarding the two orders of magnitude discrepancy in σp measurements.

First-principles study of atomic and electronic structures of 60° perfect and 30°/90° partial glide dislocations in CdTe

DOE PAGES

Kweon, Kyoung E.; Aberg, Daniel; Lordi, Vincenzo

2016-05-16

The atomic and electronic structures of 60° glide perfect and 30°/90° glide partial dislocations in CdTe are studied using combined semi-empirical and density functional theory calculations. The calculations predict that the dislocation cores tend to undergo significant reconstructions along the dislocation lines from the singly-periodic (SP) structures, yielding either doubly-periodic (DP) ordering by forming a dimer or quadruply-periodic (QP) ordering by alternating a dimer and a missing dimer. Charge modulation along the dislocation line, accompanied by the QP reconstruction for the Cd-/Te-core 60° perfect and 30° partials or the DP reconstruction for the Cd-core 90° partial, results in semiconducting character,more » as opposed to the metallic character of the SP dislocation cores. Dislocation-induced defect states for the 60° Cd-/Te-core are located relatively close to the band edges, whereas the defect states lie in the middle of the band gap for the 30° Cd-/Te-core partial dislocations. In addition to the intracore charge modulation within each QP core, the possibility of intercore charge transfer between two different dislocation cores when they are paired together in the same system is discussed. As a result, the analysis of the electronic structures reveals the potential role of the dislocations on charge transport in CdTe, particularly in terms of charge trapping and recombination.« less

The Mechanism of High Ductility for Novel High-Carbon Quenching-Partitioning-Tempering Martensitic Steel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, Shengwei; Liu, Yu; Hao, Qingguo; Wang, Ying; Chen, Nailu; Zuo, Xunwei; Rong, Yonghua

2015-09-01

In this article, a novel quenching-partitioning-tempering (Q-P-T) process was applied to treat Fe-0.6C-1.5Mn-1.5Si-0.6Cr-0.05Nb hot-rolled high-carbon steel and the microstructures including retained austenite fraction and the average dislocation densities in both martensite and retained austenite were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy, respectively. The Q-P-T steel exhibits high strength (1950 MPa) and elongation (12.4 pct). Comparing with the steel treated by traditional quenching and tempering (Q&T) process, the mechanism of high ductility for high-carbon Q-P-T steel is revealed as follows. Much more retained austenite existing in Q-P-T steel than in Q&T one remarkably enhances the ductility by the following two effects: the dislocation absorption by retained austenite effect and the transformation-induced plasticity effect. Besides, lower dislocation density in martensite matrix produced by Q-P-T process plays an important role in the improvement of ductility. However, some thin plates of twin-type martensite embedded in dislocation-type martensite matrix in high-carbon Q-P-T steel affect the further improvement of ductility.

Origin analysis of expanded stacking faults by applying forward current to 4H-SiC p-i-n diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayashi, Shohei; Naijo, Takanori; Yamashita, Tamotsu; Miyazato, Masaki; Ryo, Mina; Fujisawa, Hiroyuki; Miyajima, Masaaki; Senzaki, Junji; Kato, Tomohisa; Yonezawa, Yoshiyuki; Kojima, Kazutoshi; Okumura, Hajime

2017-08-01

Stacking faults expanded by the application of forward current to 4H-SiC p-i-n diodes were observed using a transmission electron microscope to investigate the expansion origin. It was experimentally confirmed that long-zonal-shaped stacking faults expanded from basal-plane dislocations converted into threading edge dislocations. In addition, stacking fault expansion clearly penetrated into the substrate to a greater depth than the dislocation conversion point. This downward expansion of stacking faults strongly depends on the degree of high-density minority carrier injection.

Experimental investigation of grain boundaries misorientations and nano twinning induced strengthening on addition of silicon carbide in pulse electrodeposited nickel tungsten composite coating

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rahman, O.S. Asiq; Wasekar, Nitin P.; Sundararajan, G.

Nanoindentation was performed on silicon carbide (SiC) reinforced pulse electrodeposited nickel-tungsten (Ni-W) composite coating. Addition of 5 vol.% of SiC in Ni-W coating increased the hardness from 10.31 ± 0.65 GPa to 14.32 ± 0.63 GPa and elastic modulus from 119.74 ± 3.15 GPa to 139.26 ± 2.09 GPa. Increased hardness and elastic modulus directly translates to the improved strengthening in the coating. An experimental investigation of strengthening mechanism was carried out in Ni-W-5 vol.% SiC alloy. Two simultaneous phenomena viz. grain refinement and increased internal strain was observed, which increased the dislocation density from 5.51 × 10{sup 18} m{supmore » −2} to 1.346 × 10{sup 19} m{sup −2} on reinforcement of 5 vol.% of SiC in Ni-W coating. Increased dislocation density promoted the formation of grain boundary misorientations and nano twinning. Low angle grain boundary, high angle grain boundary and nano twinning were identified using high resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM) image and their role in strengthening mechanism was discussed in details. - Highlights: • SiC reinforced pulse electrodeposition Ni-W coating was deposited on steel. • Nanoindentation showed the increased mechanical properties on addition of SiC. • Grain refinement and increased internal strain was observed in Ni-W-SiC coating. • Dislocation density increased on reinforcement of SiC in Ni-W coating. • Increased dislocation density triggered grain boundary misorientation and twinning.« less

Work Hardening Behavior of 1020 Steel During Cold-Beating Simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

CUI, Fengkui; LING, Yuanfei; XUE, Jinxue; LIU, Jia; LIU, Yuhui; LI, Yan

2017-03-01

The present research of cold-beating formation mainly focused on roller design and manufacture, kinematics, constitutive relation, metal flow law, thermo-mechanical coupling, surface micro-topography and microstructure evolution. However, the research on surface quality and performance of workpieces in the process of cold-beating is rare. Cold-beating simulation experiment of 1020 steel is conducted at room temperature and strain rates ranging from 2000 to 4000 s-1 base on the law of plastic forming. According to the experimental data, the model of strain hardening of 1020 steel is established, Scanning Electron Microscopy(SEM) is conducted, the mechanism of the work hardening of 1020 steel is clarified by analyzing microstructure variation of 1020 steel. It is found that the strain rate hardening effect of 1020 steel is stronger than the softening effect induced by increasing temperatures, the process of simulation cold-beating cause the grain shape of 1020 steel significant change and microstructure elongate significantly to form a fibrous tissue parallel to the direction of deformation, the higher strain rate, the more obvious grain refinement and the more hardening effect. Additionally, the change law of the work hardening rate is investigated, the relationship between dislocation density and strain, the relationship between work hardening rate and dislocation density is obtained. Results show that the change trend of the work hardening rate of 1020 steel is divided into two stages, the work hardening rate decreases dramatically in the first stage and slowly decreases in the second stage, finally tending toward zero. Dislocation density increases with increasing strain and strain rate, work hardening rate decreases with increasing dislocation density. The research results provide the basis for solving the problem of improving the surface quality and performance of workpieces under cold-beating formation of 1020 steel.

Nonlinear Inversion for Dynamic Rupture Parameters from the 2004 Mw6.0 Parkfield Earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jimenez, R. M.; Olsen, K. B.

2007-12-01

The Parkfield section of the San Andreas Fault has produced repeated moderate-size earthquakes at fairly regular intervals and is therefore an important target for investigations of rupture initiation, propagation and arrest, which could eventually lead to clues on earthquake prediction. The most recent member of the Parkfield series of earthquakes, the 2004 Mw6.0 event, produced a considerable amount of high-resolution strong motion data, and provides an ideal test bed for analysis of the dynamic rupture propagation. Here, we use a systematic nonlinear direct-search method to invert strong-ground motion data (less than 1 Hz) at 37 stations to obtain models of the slip weakening distance and spatially-varying stress drop (8 by 4 subfaults) on the (vertical) causative segment of the San Andreas fault (40 km long by 15 km wide), along with spatial-temporal coseismic slip distributions. The rupture and wave propagation modeling is performed by a three-dimensional finite-difference method with a slip- weakening friction law and the stress-glut dynamic-rupture formulation (Andrews, 1999), and the inversion is carried out by a neighborhood algorithm (Sambridge, 1999), minimizing the least-squares misfit between the calculated and observed seismograms. The dynamic rupture is nucleated artificially by lowering the yield stress in a 3 km by 3 km patch centered at the location of the hypocenter estimated from strong motion data. Outside the nucleation patch the yield stress is kept constant (5-10 MPa), and we constrain the slip-weakening distance to values less than 1 m. We compare the inversion results for two different velocity models: (1) a 3-D model based on the P-wave velocity structure by Thurber (2006), with S-wave and density relations based on Brocher (2005), and (2) a combination of two different 1-D layered velocity structures on either side of the fault, as proposed by Liu et al. (2006). Due to the non-uniqueness of the problem, the inversion provides an ensemble of equally valid rupture models that produce synthetics with comparable fit to the observed strong motion data. Our preliminary results with the smallest misfits, out of about 3000 tested rupture models, suggest an average slip-weakening distance of 19-81 cm and an average stress drop across the fault of 6.7 - 8.4 MPa. Compared to the kinematic inversion results by Liu et al. (2006) our models with the smallest misfits produce a larger maximum slip (up to about 81 cm) and smaller rupture area, but similar rupture duration (5-7s). The inversions carried out for the layered models tend to produce smaller misfit between data and synthetics as compared to the results using the 3D structure. This suggests that our 3D structure needs improvement, including the Vs-Vp and density-Vp relation. We expect further decrease in the misfit values by increasing the number of tested rupture models.

Characterization of HgCdTe and Related Materials For Third Generation Infrared Detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaghayenegar, Majid

Hg1-xCdxTe (MCT) has historically been the primary material used for infrared detectors. Recently, alternative substrates for MCT growth such as Si, as well as alternative infrared materials such as Hg1-xCdxSe, have been explored. This dissertation involves characterization of Hg-based infrared materials for third generation infrared detectors using a wide range of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. A microstructural study on HgCdTe/CdTe heterostructures grown by MBE on Si (211) substrates showed a thin ZnTe layer grown between CdTe and Si to mediate the large lattice mismatch of 19.5%. Observations showed large dislocation densities at the CdTe/ZnTe/Si (211) interfaces, which dropped off rapidly away from the interface. Growth of a thin HgTe buffer layer between HgCdTe and CdTe layers seemed to improve the HgCdTe layer quality by blocking some defects. A second study investigated the correlation of etch pits and dislocations in as-grown and thermal-cycle-annealed (TCA) HgCdTe (211) films. For as-grown samples, pits with triangular and fish-eye shapes were associated with Frank partial and perfect dislocations, respectively. Skew pits were determined to have a more complex nature. TCA reduced the etch-pit density by 72%. Although TCA processing eliminated the fish-eye pits, dislocations reappeared in shorter segments in the TCA samples. Large pits were observed in both as-grown and TCA samples, but the nature of any defects associated with these pits in the as-grown samples is unclear. Microstructural studies of HgCdSe revealed large dislocation density at ZnTe/Si(211) interfaces, which dropped off markedly with ZnTe thickness. Atomic-resolution STEM images showed that the large lattice mismatch at the ZnTe/Si interface was accommodated through {111}-type stacking faults. A detailed analysis showed that the stacking faults were inclined at angles of 19.5 and 90 degrees at both ZnTe/Si and HgCdSe/ZnTe interfaces. These stacking faults were associated with Shockley and Frank partial dislocations, respectively. Initial attempts to delineate individual dislocations by chemical etching revealed that while the etchants successfully attacked defective areas, many defects in close proximity to the pits were unaffected.

Dislocation reduction in heteroepitaxial Ge on Si using SiO{sub 2} lined etch pits and epitaxial lateral overgrowth

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Leonhardt, Darin; Han, Sang M.

2011-09-12

We report a technique that significantly reduces threading dislocations in Ge on Si heteroepitaxy. Germanium is first grown on Si and etched to produce pits in the surface where threading dislocations terminate. Further processing leaves a layer of SiO{sub 2} only within etch pits. Subsequent selective epitaxial Ge growth results in coalescence above the SiO{sub 2}. The SiO{sub 2} blocks the threading dislocations from propagating into the upper Ge epilayer. With annealed Ge films grown on Si, the said method reduces the defect density from 2.6 x 10{sup 8} to 1.7 x 10{sup 6} cm{sup -2}, potentially making the layermore » suitable for electronic and photovoltaic devices.« less

3D DDD modelling of dislocation-precipitate interaction in a nickel-based single crystal superalloy under cyclic deformation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Bing; Huang, Minsheng; Zhao, Liguo; Roy, Anish; Silberschmidt, Vadim; Barnard, Nick; Whittaker, Mark; McColvin, Gordon

2018-06-01

Strain-controlled cyclic deformation of a nickel-based single crystal superalloy has been modelled using three-dimensional (3D) discrete dislocation dynamics (DDD) for both [0 0 1] and [1 1 1] orientations. The work focused on the interaction between dislocations and precipitates during cyclic plastic deformation at elevated temperature, which has not been well studied yet. A representative volume element with cubic γ‧-precipitates was chosen to represent the material, with enforced periodical boundary conditions. In particular, cutting of superdislocations into precipitates was simulated by a back-force method. The global cyclic stress-strain responses were captured well by the DDD model when compared to experimental data, particularly the effects of crystallographic orientation. Dislocation evolution showed that considerably high density of dislocations was produced for [1 1 1] orientation when compared to [0 0 1] orientation. Cutting of dislocations into the precipitates had a significant effect on the plastic deformation, leading to material softening. Contour plots of in-plane shear strain proved the development of heterogeneous strain field, resulting in the formation of shear-band embryos.

Influence of Na and Ga on the electrical properties of perfect 60° dislocations in Cu(In, Ga)Se2 thin-film photovoltaic absorbers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barragan-Yani, D.; Albe, K.

2018-04-01

The segregation of GaIn and NaCu to perfect 60° dislocations in CuIn1-xGaxSe2 is investigated by means of density functional theory calculations. We find that the segregation process is mainly driven by the elastic interaction of both defect types with the strain field of the dislocation. GaIn moves into the negatively strained region, while NaCu is found in the positively strained region. We show that both defects affect the electronic defect levels induced by the dislocation core and GaIn is able to passivate the β-core in CuInSe2. This result indicates that β-cores are inactive in CuIn1-xGaxSe2. NaCu; however, they do not have a significant effect on the electrical properties of the studied dislocation cores. Therefore, the experimentally observed sodium segregation to dislocation cores in CuIn1-xGaxSe2 cannot be considered as the passivation mechanism of the electrically active cores in that material.

Evolution of dislocation loops in austenitic stainless steels implanted with high concentration of hydrogen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Zhongcheng; Gao, Ning; Tang, Rui; Yu, Yanxia; Zhang, Weiping; Shen, Zhenyu; Long, Yunxiang; Wei, Yaxia; Guo, Liping

2017-10-01

It has been found that under certain conditions, hydrogen retention would be strongly enhanced in irradiated austenitic stainless steels. To investigate the effect of the retained hydrogen on the defect microstructure, AL-6XN stainless steel specimens were irradiated with low energy (100 keV) H2+ so that high concentration of hydrogen was injected into the specimens while considerable displacement damage dose (up to 7 dpa) was also achieved. Irradiation induced dislocation loops and voids were characterised by transmission electron microscopy. For specimens irradiated to 7 dpa at 290 °C, dislocation loops with high number density were found and the void swelling was observed. At 380 °C, most of dislocation loops were unfaulted and tangled at 7 dpa, and the void swellings were observed at 5 dpa and above. Combining the data from low dose in previous work to high dose, four stages of dislocation loops evolution with hydrogen retention were suggested. Finally, molecular dynamics simulation was made to elucidate the division of large dislocation loops under irradiation.

Effect of irradiation temperature on microstructure of ferritic-martensitic ODS steel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klimenkov, M.; Lindau, R.; Jäntsch, U.; Möslang, A.

2017-09-01

The EUROFER-ODS alloy with 0.5% Y2O3 was neutron irradiated with doses up to 16.2 dpa at 250 °C, 350 °C and 450 °C. The radiation induced changes in the microstructure (e.g. dislocation loops and voids) were investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The number density of radiation induced defects was found to be significantly lower than in EUROFER 97 irradiated at the same conditions. It was found that the appearance and extent of radiation damage strongly depend not only on the irradiation temperature but also on the local number density and size distribution of ODS particles. The higher number density of dislocation loops and voids was found in the local areas with low number density of ODS particles. The interstitial loops with Burgers vector of both ½<111> and <100> types were detected by imaging using different diffraction conditions.

Investigation into nanoscratching mechanical response of AlCrCuFeNi high-entropy alloys using atomic simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zining; Li, Jia; Fang, QiHong; Liu, Bin; Zhang, Liangchi

2017-09-01

The mechanical behaviors and deformation mechanisms of scratched AlCrCuFeNi high entropy alloys (HEAs) have been studied by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, in terms of the scratching forces, atomic strain, atomic displacement, microstructural evolution and dislocation density. The results show that the larger tangential and normal forces and higher friction coefficient take place in AlCrCuFeNi HEA due to its outstanding strength and hardness, and high adhesion and fracture toughness over the pure metal materials. Moreover, the stacking fault energy (SFE) in HEA increases the probability to initiate dislocation and twinning, which is conducive to the formation of complex deformation modes. Compared to the single element metal workpieces, the segregation potency of solutes into twinning boundary (TB) is raised due to the decreasing segregation energy of TB, resulting in the stronger solute effects on improving twinning properties for HEA workpiece. The higher dislocation density and the more activated slipping planes lead to the outstanding plasticity of AlCrCuFeNi HEA. The solute atoms as barriers to hinder the motion of dislocation and the severe lattice distortion to suppress the free slipping of dislocation are significantly stronger obstacles to strengthen HEA. The excellent comprehensive scratching properties of the bulk AlCrCuFeNi HEAs are associated with the combined effects of multiple strengthening mechanisms, such as dislocation strengthening, deformation twinning strengthening as well as solute strengthening. This work provides a basis for further understanding and tailoring SFE in mechanical properties and deformation mechanism of HEAs, which maybe facilitate the design and preparation of new HEAs with high performance.

Controlled growth of heteroepitaxial zinc oxide nanostructures on gallium nitride.

PubMed

Kong, Bo Hyun; Kim, Dong Chan; Mohanta, Sanjay Kumar; Han, Won Suk; Cho, Hyung Koun; Hong, Chang-Hee; Kim, Hyung Gu

2009-07-01

ZnO epitaxial layers were grown on GaN underlying films by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition at various temperatures. An increase in growth temperature led to morphological changes from a smooth film with hexagonal-shaped surface pits to honeycomb-like nanostructures with deep hollow, and additionally resulted in a decrease in dislocation density in the interfacial layers. The reduced dislocation density at the higher growth temperature was attributed to an increase in the size of the critical nucleus and the low nucleation density at the initial stage. The shifts in the peak positions in the X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence were also observed in the samples grown at different temperatures, and were caused by the variation of residual strains after the complete coalescence of the nuclei.

Scanning Defect Mapping | Photovoltaic Research | NREL

Science.gov Websites

SDMS moves the treated wafer across a stationary laser beam and maps the defects for each location on the wafer. The amount of light reflected from an area is proportional to the dislocation density for that area and provides a direct statistical count of the number of dislocations. PV Research Other

Role of fluttering dislocations in the thermal interface resistance between a silicon crystal and plastic solid 4He

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amrit, Jay; Ramiere, Aymeric; Volz, Sebastian

2018-01-01

A quantum solid (solid 4He) in contact with a classical solid defines a new class of interfaces. In addition to its quantum nature, solid 4He is indeed a very plastic medium. We examine the thermal interface resistance upon solidification of superfluid 4He in contact with a silicon crystal surface (111) and show that dislocations play a crucial role in the thermal interface transport. The growth of solid 4He and the measurements are conducted at the minimum of the melting curve of helium (0.778 K and ˜25 bar ). The results display a first-order transition in the Kapitza resistance from a value of RK ,L=(80 ±8 ) c m2K /W at a pressure of 24.5 bar to a value of RK ,S=(41.7 ±8 ) c m2K /W after the formation of solid helium at ˜25.2 bar . The drop in RK ,S is only of a factor of ˜2 , although transverse phonon modes in solid 4He now participate in heat transmission at the interface. We provide an explanation for the measured RK ,S by considering the interaction of thermal phonons with vibrating dislocations in solid 4He. We demonstrate that this mechanism, also called fluttering, induces a thermal resistance RF l∝NdT-6 , where T is the temperature and Nd is the density of dislocations. We estimate that for dislocation densities on the order of ˜107c m-2 , RF l predominates over the boundary resistance RK ,S. These fundamental findings shed light on the role of dislocations and provide a quantitative explanation for previous experiments which showed no measurable change in the Kapitza resistance between Cu and superfluid 4He upon solidification of the latter. This demonstrates the possibility of using dislocations as an additional means to tailor thermal resistances at interfaces, formed especially with a plastic material.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hansen, Benjamin L; Bronkhorst, Curt; Beyerlein, Irene

The goal of this work is to formulate a constitutive model for the deformation of metals over a wide range of strain rates. Damage and failure of materials frequently occurs at a variety of deformation rates within the same sample. The present state of the art in single crystal constitutive models relies on thermally-activated models which are believed to become less reliable for problems exceeding strain rates of 10{sup 4} s{sup -1}. This talk presents work in which we extend the applicability of the single crystal model to the strain rate region where dislocation drag is believed to dominate. Themore » elastic model includes effects from volumetric change and pressure sensitive moduli. The plastic model transitions from the low-rate thermally-activated regime to the high-rate drag dominated regime. The direct use of dislocation density as a state parameter gives a measurable physical mechanism to strain hardening. Dislocation densities are separated according to type and given a systematic set of interactions rates adaptable by type. The form of the constitutive model is motivated by previously published dislocation dynamics work which articulated important behaviors unique to high-rate response in fcc systems. The proposed material model incorporates thermal coupling. The hardening model tracks the varying dislocation population with respect to each slip plane and computes the slip resistance based on those values. Comparisons can be made between the responses of single crystals and polycrystals at a variety of strain rates. The material model is fit to copper.« less

HR-EBSD as a new tool for quantifying geometrically necessary dislocations in quartz: Application to chessboard subgrain boundaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wallis, D.; Parsons, A. J.; Hansen, L. N.

2017-12-01

Chessboard subgrains in quartz, with boundaries composed of {m}[c] edge dislocations, are widely used as evidence for high-temperature deformation and have been suggested to form only in β-quartz. However, the origins and dislocation structure of chessboard subgrains remain poorly constrained and, without precise constraints on axes of misorientations across subgrain boundaries, other subgrain types formed at lower temperatures can be misidentified as chessboard subgrains. The technique most commonly employed to investigate subgrain structures, electron backscatter diffraction, can only resolve misorientation angles and axes for a portion of the substructure. This limitation hinders detailed interpretation of the dislocation types, densities, and processes that generate characteristic subgrain structures. We overcome these limitations by employing high-angular resolution electron backscatter diffraction (HR-EBSD), which employs cross-correlation of diffraction patterns to achieve angular resolution on the order of 0.01° with well-constrained misorientation axes. We analyse chessboard subgrains in samples from the Greater Himalayan Sequence, Nepal, which were deformed along well constrained pressure-temperature paths confined to the stability field of α-quartz. HR-EBSD analysis demonstrates that the subgrain boundaries consist of two sets. One set consists primarily of {m}[c] edge dislocations and the other consists of dislocations primarily with Burgers vectors. Apparent densities of geometrically necessary dislocations vary from > 1013 m-2 within some subgrain boundaries to < 1012 m-2 within subgrain interiors. This analysis provides new insight into the structure of chessboard subgrain boundaries, and a new tool to distinguish them from superficially similar deformation microstructures formed by other dislocation types at lower temperatures. Application of HR-EBSD to quartz from the Greater Himalayan Sequence confirms the activity of {m}[c] slip in the α-quartz stability field and demonstrates that formation of chessboard subgrains is not restricted to the stability field of β-quartz. Most importantly, this study demonstrates the potential of HR-EBSD as an improved method for analysis of quartz microstructures used as indicators of deformation conditions.

Defect analysis of the LED structure deposited on the sapphire substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nie, Qichu; Jiang, Zhimin; Gan, Zhiyin; Liu, Sheng; Yan, Han; Fang, Haisheng

2018-04-01

Transmission electron microscope (TEM) and double-crystal X-ray diffraction (DCXRD) measurements have been performed to investigate dislocations of the whole structure of the LED layers deposited on both the conventional (unpatterned sapphire substrate, UPSS) and patterned sapphire substrates (PSS). TEM results show that there exists a dislocation-accumulated region near the substrate/GaN interface, where the dislocation density is much higher with the UPPS than that with the PSS. It indicates that the pattern on the substrate surface is able to block the formation and propagation of dislocations. Further analysis discloses that slope of the pattern is found to suppress the deposition of GaN, and thus to provide more spaces for the epitaxially lateral overgrowth (ELO) of high temperature GaN, which significantly reduces the number of the initial islands, and minimizes dislocation formation due to the island coalescence. V-defect incorporating the threading dislocation is detected in the InGaN/GaN multi-quantum wells (MQWs), and its propagation mechanism is determined as the decrease of the surface energy due to the incorporation of indium. In addition, temperature dependence of dislocation formation is further investigated. The results show that dislocation with the screw component decreases monotonously as temperature goes up. However, edge dislocation firstly drops, and then increases by temperature due to the enhanced thermal mismatch stress. It implies that an optimized range of the growth temperature can be obtained to improve quality of the LED layers.

The effects of intrinsic properties and defect structures on the indentation size effect in metals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maughan, Michael R.; Leonard, Ariel A.; Stauffer, Douglas D.; Bahr, David F.

2017-08-01

The indentation size effect has been linked to the generation of geometrically necessary dislocations that may be impacted by intrinsic materials properties, such as stacking fault energy, and extrinsic defects, such as statistically stored dislocations. Nanoindentation was carried out at room temperature and elevated temperatures on four different metals in a variety of microstructural conditions. A size effect parameter was determined for each material set combining the effects of temperature and existing dislocation structure. Extrinsic defects, particularly dislocation density, dominate the size effect parameter over those due to intrinsic properties such as stacking fault energy. A multi-mechanism description using a series of mechanisms, rather than a single mechanism, is presented as a phenomenological explanation for the observed size effect in these materials. In this description, the size effect begins with a volume scale dominated by sparse sources, next is controlled by the ability of dislocations to cross-slip and multiply, and then finally at larger length scales work hardening and recovery dominate the effect.

Defect and void evolution in oxide dispersion strengthened ferritic steels under 3.2 MeV Fe + ion irradiation with simultaneous helium injection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, I.-S.; Hunn, J. D.; Hashimoto, N.; Larson^1, D. L.; Maziasz, P. J.; Miyahara, K.; Lee, E. H.

2000-08-01

In an attempt to explore the potential of oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) ferritic steels for fission and fusion structural materials applications, a set of ODS steels with varying oxide particle dispersion were irradiated at 650°C, using 3.2 MeV Fe + and 330 keV He + ions simultaneously. The void formation mechanisms in these ODS steels were studied by juxtaposing the response of a 9Cr-2WVTa ferritic/martensitic steel and solution annealed AISI 316LN austenitic stainless steel under the same irradiation conditions. The results showed that void formation was suppressed progressively by introducing and retaining a higher dislocation density and finer precipitate particles. Theoretical analyses suggest that the delayed onset of void formation in ODS steels stems from the enhanced point defect recombination in the high density dislocation microstructure, lower dislocation bias due to oxide particle pinning, and a very fine dispersion of helium bubbles caused by trapping helium atoms at the particle-matrix interfaces.

Super-strengthening and stabilizing with carbon nanotube harnessed high density nanotwins in metals by shock loading

PubMed Central

Lin, Dong; Saei, Mojib; Suslov, Sergey; Jin, Shengyu; Cheng, Gary J.

2015-01-01

CNTs reinforced metal composites has great potential due to their superior properties, such as light weight, high strength, low thermal expansion and high thermal conductivity. The current strengthening mechanisms of CNT/metal composite mainly rely on CNTs’ interaction with dislocations and CNT’s intrinsic high strength. Here we demonstrated that laser shock loading the CNT/metal composite results in high density nanotwins, stacking fault, dislocation around the CNT/metal interface. The composites exhibit enhanced strength with excellent stability. The results are interpreted by both molecular dynamics simulation and experiments. It is found the shock wave interaction with CNTs induces a stress field, much higher than the applied shock pressure, surrounding the CNT/metal interface. As a result, nanotwins were nucleated under a shock pressure much lower than the critical values to generate twins in metals. This hybrid unique nanostructure not only enhances the strength, but also stabilize the strength, as the nanotwin boundaries around the CNTs help pin the dislocation movement. PMID:26493533

Thermodynamically consistent relations involving plasticity, internal energy and thermal effects.

PubMed

Schreyer, H L; Maudlin, P J

2005-11-15

Experimental data associated with plastic deformations indicate that the temperature is less than that predicted from dissipation based on plastic work. To obtain reasonable correlation between theoretical and experimental results, the plastic work is often multiplied by a constant beta. This paper provides an alternative thermodynamic framework in which it is proposed that there is an additional internal energy associated with dislocation pile-up or increase in dislocation density. The form of this internal energy follows from experimental data that relates flow stress to dislocation density and to equivalent plastic strain. The result is that beta is not a constant but a derived function. Representative results for beta and temperature as functions of effective plastic strain are provided for both an uncoupled and a coupled thermoplastic theory. In addition to providing features that are believed to be representative of many metals, the formulation can be used as a basis for more advanced theories such as those needed for large deformations and general forms of internal energy.

Radiation resistance of oxide dispersion strengthened alloys: Perspectives from in situ observations and rate theory calculations

DOE PAGES

Liu, Xiang; Miao, Yinbin; Li, Meimei; ...

2018-04-15

Here, in situ ion irradiation and rate theory calculations were employed to directly compare the radiation resistance of an oxide dispersion strengthened alloy with that of a conventional ferritic/martensitic alloy. Compared to the rapid buildup of dislocation loops, loop growth, and formation of network dislocations in the conventional ferritic/martensitic alloy, the superior radiation resistance of the oxide dispersion strengthened alloy is manifested by its stable dislocation structure under the same irradiation conditions. Thus, the results are consistent with rate theory calculations, which show that high-density nanoparticles can significantly reduce freely migrating defects and suppress the buildup of clustered defects.

Radiation resistance of oxide dispersion strengthened alloys: Perspectives from in situ observations and rate theory calculations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Xiang; Miao, Yinbin; Li, Meimei

Here, in situ ion irradiation and rate theory calculations were employed to directly compare the radiation resistance of an oxide dispersion strengthened alloy with that of a conventional ferritic/martensitic alloy. Compared to the rapid buildup of dislocation loops, loop growth, and formation of network dislocations in the conventional ferritic/martensitic alloy, the superior radiation resistance of the oxide dispersion strengthened alloy is manifested by its stable dislocation structure under the same irradiation conditions. Thus, the results are consistent with rate theory calculations, which show that high-density nanoparticles can significantly reduce freely migrating defects and suppress the buildup of clustered defects.

Atomic-scale studies on the effect of boundary coherency on stability in twinned Cu

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niu, Rongmei; Han, Ke; Su, Yi-Feng; Salters, Vincent J.

2014-01-01

The stored energy and hardness of nanotwinned (NT) Cu are related to interaction between dislocations and {111}-twin boundaries (TBs) studied at atomic scales by high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscope. Lack of mobile dislocations at coherent TBs (CTBs) provides as-deposited NT Cu a rare combination of stability and hardness. The introduction of numerous incoherent TBs (ITBs) reduces both the stability and hardness. While storing more energy in their ITBs than in the CTBs, deformed NT Cu also exhibits high dislocation density and TB mobility and therefore has increased the driving force for recovery, coarsening, and recrystallization.

Microstructure in Worn Surface of Hadfield Steel Crossing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, F. C.; Lv, B.; Wang, T. S.; Zheng, C. L.; Li, M.; Zhang, M.

In this paper a failed Hadfield (high manganese austenite) steel crossing used in railway system was studied. The microstructure in the worn surfaces of the crossing was investigated using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The results indicated that a nanocrystallization layer formed on the surface of the crossing served. The formation mechanism of the nanocrystalline is the discontinuous dynamic recrystallization. The energy for the recrystallization nucleus formation originates from the interactions between the twins, the dislocations, as well as twin and dislocation. High-density vacancies promoted the recrystallization process including the dislocation climb and the atom diffusion.

Structure and energetics of extended defects in ice Ih

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silva Junior, Domingos L.; de Koning, Maurice

2012-01-01

We consider the molecular structure and energetics of extended defects in proton-disordered hexagonal ice Ih. Using plane-wave density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we compute the energetics of stacking faults and determine the structure of the 30∘ and 90∘ partial dislocations on the basal plane. Consistent with experimental data, the formation energies of all fully reconstructed stacking faults are found to be very low. This is consistent with the idea that basal-plane glide dislocations in ice Ih are dissociated into partial dislocations separated by an area of stacking fault. For both types of partial dislocation we find a strong tendency toward core reconstruction through pairwise hydrogen-bond reformation. In the case of the 30∘ dislocation, the pairwise hydrogen-bond formation leads to a period-doubling core structure equivalent to that seen in zinc-blende semiconductor crystals. For the 90∘ partial we consider two possible core reconstructions, one in which the periodicity of the structure along the core remains unaltered and another in which it is doubled. The latter is preferred, although the energy difference between both is rather small, so that a coexistence of both reconstructions appears plausible. Our results imply that a mobility theory for dislocations on the basal plane in ice Ih should be based on the idea of reconstructed partial dislocations.

Clusters of Point Defects Near Dislocations as a Tool to Control CdZnTe Electrical Parameters by Ultrasound

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olikh, Ya. M.; Tymochko, M. D.; Olikh, O. Ya.; Shenderovsky, V. A.

2018-05-01

We studied the temperature dependence (77-300 K) of the electron concentration and mobility using the Hall method under ultrasound (the acoustic Hall method) to determine the mechanisms by which ultrasound influences the electrical activity of near-dislocation clusters in n-type low-ohmic Cd1-x Zn x Te single crystals (N Cl ≈ 1024 m-3; x = 0; 0.04) with different dislocation density (0.4-5.1) × 1010 m-2. Changes in electrophysical parameters were found to occur as a function of temperature and ultrasound intensity. To evaluate the relative contribution of different charge carrier scattering mechanisms (lattice scattering, ionized impurity scattering, neutral impurity scattering, and dislocation scattering) and their change under ultrasound, a differential evolution method was used. This method made it possible to analyze experimental mobility μ H(T) by its nonlinear approximation with characteristic temperature dependence for each mechanism. An increase in neutral impurity scattering and a decrease in ionized impurity and dislocation scattering components were observed under ultrasound. The character and the amount of these acoustically induced changes correlate with particular sample dislocation characteristics. It was concluded that the observed effects are related to the acoustically induced transformation of the point-defect structure, mainly in the near dislocation crystal regions.

Effect of screw threading dislocations and inverse domain boundaries in GaN on the shape of reciprocal-space maps.

PubMed

Barchuk, Mykhailo; Motylenko, Mykhaylo; Lukin, Gleb; Pätzold, Olf; Rafaja, David

2017-04-01

The microstructure of polar GaN layers, grown by upgraded high-temperature vapour phase epitaxy on [001]-oriented sapphire substrates, was studied by means of high-resolution X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Systematic differences between reciprocal-space maps measured by X-ray diffraction and those which were simulated for different densities of threading dislocations revealed that threading dislocations are not the only microstructure defect in these GaN layers. Conventional dark-field transmission electron microscopy and convergent-beam electron diffraction detected vertical inversion domains as an additional microstructure feature. On a series of polar GaN layers with different proportions of threading dislocations and inversion domain boundaries, this contribution illustrates the capability and limitations of coplanar reciprocal-space mapping by X-ray diffraction to distinguish between these microstructure features.

Structural defects in bulk GaN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liliental-Weber, Z.; dos Reis, R.; Mancuso, M.; Song, C. Y.; Grzegory, I.; Porowski, S.; Bockowski, M.

2014-10-01

Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) studies of undoped and Mg doped GaN layers grown on the HVPE substrates by High Nitrogen Pressure Solution (HNPS) with the multi-feed-seed (MFS) configuration are shown. The propagation of dislocations from the HVPE substrate to the layer is observed. Due to the interaction between these dislocations in the thick layers much lower density of these defects is observed in the upper part of the HNPS layers. Amorphous Ga precipitates with attached voids pointing toward the growth direction are observed in the undoped layer. This is similar to the presence of Ga precipitates in high-pressure platelets, however the shape of these precipitates is different. The Mg doped layers do not show Ga precipitates, but MgO rectangular precipitates are formed, decorating the dislocations. Results of TEM studies of HVPE layers grown on Ammonothermal substrates are also presented. These layers have superior crystal quality in comparison to the HNPS layers, as far as density of dislocation is concern. Occasionally some small inclusions can be found, but their chemical composition was not yet determined. It is expected that growth of the HNPS layers on these substrate will lead to large layer thickness obtained in a short time and with high crystal perfection needed in devices.

Microstructure and nanohardness distribution in a polycrystalline Zn deformed by high strain rate impact

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dirras, G., E-mail: dirras@univ-paris13.fr; Ouarem, A.; Couque, H.

2011-05-15

Polycrystalline Zn with an average grain size of about 300 {mu}m was deformed by direct impact Hopkinson pressure bar at a velocity of 29 m/s. An inhomogeneous grain structure was found consisting of a center region having large average grain size of 20 {mu}m surrounded by a fine-grained rim with an average grain size of 6 {mu}m. Transmission electron microscopy investigations showed a significant dislocation density in the large-grained area while in the fine-grained rim the dislocation density was negligible. Most probably, the higher strain yielded recrystallization in the outer ring while in the center only recovery occurred. The hardeningmore » effect of dislocations overwhelms the smaller grain size strengthening in the center part resulting in higher nanohardness in this region than in the outer ring. - Graphical Abstract: (a): EBSD micrograph showing the initial microstructure of polycrystalline Zn that was subsequently submitted to high strain rate impact. (b): an inhomogeneous grain size refinement was obtained which consists of a central coarse-grained area, surrounded by a fine-grained recrystallized rim. The black arrow points to the disc center. Research Highlights: {yields} A polycrystalline Zn specimen was submitted to high strain rate impact loading. {yields} Inhomogeneous grain refinement occurred due to strain gradient in impacted sample. {yields} A fine-grained recrystallized rim surrounded the coarse-grained center of specimen. {yields} The coarse-grained center exhibited higher hardness than the fine-grained rim. {yields} The higher hardness of the center was caused by the higher dislocation density.« less

Effects of external mechanical loading on phase diagrams and dielectric properties in epitaxial ferroelectric thin films with anisotropic in-plane misfit strains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiu, J. H.; Jiang, Q.

2007-02-01

A phenomenological Landau-Devonshine theory is used to describe the effects of external mechanical loading on equilibrium polarization states and dielectric properties in epitaxial ferroelectric thin films grown on dissimilar orthorhombic substrates which induce anisotropic misfit strains in the film plane. The calculation focuses on single-domain perovskite BaTiO3 and PbTiO3 thin films on the assumption that um1=-um2. Compared with the phase diagrams without external loading, the characteristic features of "misfit strain-misfit strain" phase diagrams at room temperature are the presence of paraelectric phase and the strain-induced ferroelectric to paraelectric phase transition. Due to the external loading, the "misfit strain-stress" and "stress-temperature" phase diagrams also have drastic changes, especially for the vanishing of paraelectric phase in "misfit strain-stress" phase map and the appearance of possible ferroelectric phases. We also investigate the dielectric properties and the tunability of both BaTiO3 and PbTiO3 thin films. We find that the external stress dependence of phase diagrams and dielectric properties largely depends on strain anisotropy as well.

Influence of Different Ceramic Systems on Marginal Misfit.

PubMed

Vargas, S P; Neves, A C C; Vitti, R; Amaral, M; Henrique, M N; Silva-Concílio, L R

2017-09-01

the aim of this study was to evaluate the marginal misfit at the interface between a ceramic coping and its abutment. Twenty-four specimens were made with solid abutments. The specimens were divided into 3 groups according to the ceramic system (n = 8): Lava (zirconia), IPS e.max Press (lithium disilicate), and IPS Empress Esthetic (leucite). All copings were cemented with resin luting agent (RelyX U200) and the marginal misfit were evaluated at 3 different times: initial, after cementation, and after mechanical cycling using a linear measuring microscope (Measuring Microscope STM-Olympus) at a magnification of 40x. All specimens were subjected to mechanical cycling (1 million cycles) by an universal testing machine (Instron 8800). The results were statistically analyzed using Analysis of Variance and Student's t-test (α = 0.05). all groups showed an increase in the marginal misfit after cementation. The lithium disilicate group demonstrated the lowest interacial gap values at each evaluation (p = 0.001). The zirconia and leucite groups showed similar interfacial gap values (initial, p = 0.244; and post cementation, p = 0.751). the cementation increase the marginal misfit, but the mechanical cycling did not influence the marginal misfit of the ceramics systems evaluated. Copyright© 2017 Dennis Barber Ltd.

Red Misfits in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: properties of star-forming red galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Evans, Fraser A.; Parker, Laura C.; Roberts, Ian D.

2018-06-01

We study Red Misfits, a population of red, star-forming galaxies in the local Universe. We classify galaxies based on inclination-corrected optical colours and specific star formation rates derived from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7. Although the majority of blue galaxies are star-forming and most red galaxies exhibit little to no ongoing star formation, a small but significant population of galaxies (˜11 per cent at all stellar masses) are classified as red in colour yet actively star-forming. We explore a number of properties of these galaxies and demonstrate that Red Misfits are not simply dusty or highly inclined blue cloud galaxies or quiescent red galaxies with poorly constrained star formation. The proportion of Red Misfits is nearly independent of environment, and this population exhibits both intermediate morphologies and an enhanced likelihood of hosting an active galactic nucleus. We conclude that Red Misfits are a transition population, gradually quenching on their way to the red sequence and this quenching is dominated by internal processes rather than environmentally driven processes. We discuss the connection between Red Misfits and other transition galaxy populations, namely S0s, red spirals, and green valley galaxies.

Misfit-layered Bi1.85 Sr2 Co1.85 O7.7-δ for the hydrogen evolution reaction: beyond van der Waals heterostructures.

PubMed

Chua, Chun Kiang; Sofer, Zdeněk; Jankovský, Ondřej; Pumera, Martin

2015-03-16

Recent research on stable 2D nanomaterials has led to the discovery of new materials for energy-conversion and energy-storage applications. A class of layered heterostructures known as misfit-layered chalcogenides consists of well-defined atomic layers and has previously been applied as thermoelectric materials for use as high-temperature thermoelectric batteries. The performance of such misfit-layered chalcogenides in electrochemical applications, specifically the hydrogen evolution reaction, is currently unexplored. Herein, a misfit-layered chalcogenide consisting of CoO2 layers interleaved with an SrO-BiO-BiO-SrO rock-salt block and having the formula Bi1.85 Sr2 Co1.85 O7.7-δ is synthesized and examined for its structural and electrochemical properties. The hydrogen-evolution performance of misfit-layered Bi1.85 Sr2 Co1.85 O7.7-δ , which has an overpotential of 589 mV and a Tafel slope of 51 mV per decade, demonstrates the promising potential of misfit-layered chalcogenides as electrocatalysts instead of classical carbon. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

The role of welding techniques in the biomechanical behavior of implant-supported prostheses.

PubMed

Rodrigues, Sabrina Alessandra; Presotto, Anna Gabriella Camacho; Barão, Valentim Adelino Ricardo; Consani, Rafael Leonardo Xediek; Nóbilo, Mauro Antônio Arruda; Mesquita, Marcelo Ferraz

2017-09-01

This in vitro study investigated the role of welding techniques of implant-supported prostheses in the 2D and 3D marginal misfits of prosthetic frameworks, strain induced on the mini abutment, and detorque of prosthetic screws. The correlations between the analyzed variables were also investigated. Frameworks were cast in commercially pure titanium (cp-Ti). A marginal misfit of 200μm was simulated in the working models (control group) (n=20). The 2D marginal misfit was analyzed according to the single-screw test protocol using a precision optical microscope. The 3D marginal misfit was performed by X-ray microtomography. Strain gauge analysis was performed to investigate the strain induced on the mini abutment. A digital torque meter was used for analysis of the detorque and the mean value was calculated for each framework. Afterwards, the frameworks were divided into two experimental groups (n=10): Laser (L) and TIG (T). The welding techniques were performed according to the following parameters: L (390V/9ms); T (36A/60ms). The L and T groups were reevaluated according to the marginal misfit, strain, and detorque. The results were submitted to one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's HSD test and Person correlation analysis (α=0.05). Welding techniques statistically reduced the 2D and 3D marginal misfits of prosthetic frameworks (p<0.001), the strain induced on the mini abutment replicas (p=0.006), and improved the screw torque maintenance (p<0.001). Similar behavior was noted between L and T groups for all dependent variables (p>0.05). Positive correlations were observed between 2D and 3D marginal misfit reading methods (r=0.943, p<0.0001) and between misfit and strain (2D r=0.844, p<0.0001 and 3D r=0.864, p<0.0001). Negative correlation was observed between misfit and detorque (2D r=-0.823, p=0.003 and 3D r=-0.811, p=0.005). In conclusion, the welding techniques improved the biomechanical behavior of the implant-supported system. TIG can be an acceptable and affordable technique to reduce the misfit of 3-unit Ti frameworks. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Theory of hydrodynamic transport in fluctuating electronic charge density wave states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delacrétaz, Luca V.; Goutéraux, Blaise; Hartnoll, Sean A.; Karlsson, Anna

2017-11-01

We describe the collective hydrodynamic motion of an incommensurate charge density wave state in a clean electronic system. Our description simultaneously incorporates the effects of both pinning due to weak disorder and also phase relaxation due to proliferating dislocations. We show that the interplay between these two phenomena has important consequences for charge and momentum transport. For instance, it can lead to metal-insulator transitions. We furthermore identify signatures of fluctuating density waves in frequency and spatially resolved conductivities. Phase disordering is well known to lead to a large viscosity. We derive a precise formula for the phase relaxation rate in terms of the viscosity in the dislocation cores. We thereby determine the viscosity of the superconducting state of BSCCO from the observed melting dynamics of Abrikosov lattices and show that the result is consistent with dissipation into Bogoliubov quasiparticles.

GaSb thermophotovoltaic cells grown on GaAs by molecular beam epitaxy using interfacial misfit arrays

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Juang, Bor-Chau, E-mail: bcjuang@ucla.edu; Laghumavarapu, Ramesh B.; Foggo, Brandon J.

There exists a long-term need for foreign substrates on which to grow GaSb-based optoelectronic devices. We address this need by using interfacial misfit arrays to grow GaSb-based thermophotovoltaic cells directly on GaAs (001) substrates and demonstrate promising performance. We compare these cells to control devices grown on GaSb substrates to assess device properties and material quality. The room temperature dark current densities show similar characteristics for both cells on GaAs and on GaSb. Under solar simulation the cells on GaAs exhibit an open-circuit voltage of 0.121 V and a short-circuit current density of 15.5 mA/cm{sup 2}. In addition, the cells on GaAsmore » substrates maintain 10% difference in spectral response to those of the control cells over a large range of wavelengths. While the cells on GaSb substrates in general offer better performance than the cells on GaAs substrates, the cost-savings and scalability offered by GaAs substrates could potentially outweigh the reduction in performance. By further optimizing GaSb buffer growth on GaAs substrates, Sb-based compound semiconductors grown on GaAs substrates with similar performance to devices grown directly on GaSb substrates could be realized.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Qian, Dan; Zhang, Anfeng; Zhu, Jianxue

Here in this letter, microstructural and mechanical inhomogeneities, a great concern for single crystal Ni-based superalloys repaired by laser assisted 3D printing, have been probed near the epitaxial interface. Nanoindentation tests show the hardness to be uniformly lower in the bulk of the substrate and constantly higher in the epitaxial cladding layer. A gradient of hardness through the heat affected zone is also observed, resulting from an increase in dislocation density, as indicated by the broadening of the synchrotron X-ray Laue microdiffraction reflections. Lastly, the hardening mechanism of the claddin g region, on the other hand, is shown to originatemore » not only from high dislocation density but also and more importantly from the fine γ/γ' microstructure.« less

Stress studies in EFG

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1984-01-01

Electrical characterization of defects induced in FZ and CZ silicon stress in four-point bending above 1200 C was started. Techniques to study electrical activity that will permit correlation of defect activity with diffusion length and with room and low temperature EBIC are being developed. Preliminary characterization of defects in ribbon grown at very low speeds of less than 1 cm/min shows that the dislocation density is very low over significant regions of cross section, while regions of high dislocation density (approx. 5 x 10(6)/cm(2)) occur in bands in a number of places. Addition measurements of stress distributions in EFG material were obtained at the University of Illinois using shadow-Moire interferometry.

Nano-size defects in arsenic-implanted HgCdTe films: a HRTEM study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonchyk, O. Yu.; Savytskyy, H. V.; Swiatek, Z.; Morgiel, Y.; Izhnin, I. I.; Voitsekhovskii, A. V.; Korotaev, A. G.; Mynbaev, K. D.; Fitsych, O. I.; Varavin, V. S.; Dvoretsky, S. A.; Marin, D. V.; Yakushev, M. V.

2018-02-01

Radiation damage and its transformation under annealing were studied with bright-field and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy for arsenic-implanted HgCdTe films with graded-gap surface layers. In addition to typical highly defective layers in as-implanted material, a 50 nm-thick sub-surface layer with very low defect density was observed. The main defects in other layers after implantation were dislocation loops, yet after arsenic activation annealing, the dominating defects were single dislocations. Transport (from depth to surface), transformation and annihilation of radiation-induced defects were observed as a result of annealing, with the depth with the maximum defect density decreasing from 110 to 40 nm.

Anomalous Annealing Response of Directed Energy Deposited Type 304L Austenitic Stainless Steel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Thale R.; Sugar, Joshua D.; Schoenung, Julie M.; San Marchi, Chris

2018-03-01

Directed energy deposited (DED) and forged austenitic stainless steels possess dissimilar microstructures but can exhibit similar mechanical properties. In this study, annealing was used to evolve the microstructure of both conventional wrought and DED type 304L austenitic stainless steels, and significant differences were observed. In particular, the density of geometrically necessary dislocations and hardness were used to probe the evolution of the microstructure and properties. Forged type 304L exhibited the expected decrease in measured dislocation density and hardness as a function of annealing temperature. The more complex microstructure-property relationship observed in the DED type 304L material is attributed to compositional heterogeneities in the solidification microstructure.

Growth of high quality germanium films on patterned silicon substrates and applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vanamu, Ganesh

The principal objective of this work is to determine optimal pattern structures for highest quality (defect free) heteroepitaxial growth. High quality films of Ge on Si are of significant importance and can be used in high electron mobility devices, photodetectors for optical communications (1.3mum or 1.55mum) and integrating III-V optoelectronic devices. However, a 4% lattice mismatch and ˜ 50% thermal expansion mismatch between Ge and Si create three major challenges in growing high quality Ge films on Si, (a) high surface roughness due to a pronounced <110> crosshatch pattern, (b) high dislocation densities in Ge films and (c) high density of microcracks and wafer bending. A common way of reducing lattice and thermal expansion mismatch is to form a "virtual substrate (VS)" by growing a graded composition followed by a uniform layer of the desired epitaxial film on a defect-free Si substrate. Virtual graded layers could not decrease the dislocation densities to the numbers acceptable for most of the devices. Mathews et al. first proposed that limiting the lateral dimensions of the sample prior to growth could reduce the dislocation density. Later On Fitzgerald proposed that patterning decreases the dislocation density in the films. In this work we show high quality crosshatch-free Ge films with dislocation density ˜ 105 cm-2 on the nano-patterned Si and also high quality GaAs films on the Ge/Si virtual substrate. The first step in this research was to perform a systematic study to identify the role of pattern width on the quality of Ge growth. We investigated micrometer and submicrometer scale patterns. We demonstrated that the quality of the heteroepitaxial layers improves as the pattern width decreases. Then we have decreased the pattern width to nanometer-scale dimensions. Significant improvement of the Ge film quality was observed. We used novel interferometric lithography techniques combined with reactive ion and wet chemical etching to fabricate Si structures. The patterning was done using standard photomask based lithography. We analyzed the quality of the Ge films using high resolution x-ray diffraction, TEM and SEM. We performed etch pit density (EPD) measurements by counting the pits formed using a Nomarski optical microscope. In order to correlate characterization with device performance, we designed an inter-digitated pattern to form Ge based metal semiconductor metal photodetector and measured the photoresponse of the Ge films. Preliminary results were very promising. We then grew 4 mum GaAs on the Ge/Si using MBE (0.5 mum/hr and 570°C) and analyzed the GaAs film quality. We also performed modeling to calculate strain energy density and wafer bending in multi-layer films grown epitaxially on planar Si substrates. We have also compared the models with experiments. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Epitaxial growth of GaSb on V-grooved Si (001) substrates with an ultrathin GaAs stress relaxing layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Qiang; Lai, Billy; Lau, Kei May

2017-10-01

We report epitaxial growth of GaSb nano-ridge structures and planar thin films on V-groove patterned Si (001) substrates by leveraging the aspect ratio trapping technique. GaSb was deposited on {111} Si facets of the V-shaped trenches using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition with a 7 nm GaAs growth initiation layer. Transmission electron microscopy analysis reveals the critical role of the GaAs layer in providing a U-shaped surface for subsequent GaSb epitaxy. A network of misfit dislocations was uncovered at the GaSb/GaAs hetero-interface. We studied the evolution of the lattice relaxation as the growth progresses from closely pitched GaSb ridges to coalesced thin films using x-ray diffraction. The omega rocking curve full-width-at-half-maximum of the resultant GaSb thin film is among the lowest values reported by molecular beam epitaxy, substantiating the effectiveness of the defect necking mechanism. These results thus present promising opportunities for the heterogeneous integration of devices based on 6.1 Å family compound semiconductors.

Strain and stability of ultrathin Ge layers in Si/Ge/Si axial heterojunction nanowires

DOE PAGES

Ross, Frances M.; Stach, Eric A.; Wen, Cheng -Yen; ...

2015-02-05

The abrupt heterointerfaces in the Si/Ge materials system presents useful possibilities for electronic device engineering because the band structure can be affected by strain induced by the lattice mismatch. In planar layers, heterointerfaces with abrupt composition changes are difficult to realize without introducing misfit dislocations. However, in catalytically grown nanowires, abrupt heterointerfaces can be fabricated by appropriate choice of the catalyst. Here we grow nanowires containing Si/Ge and Si/Ge/Si structures respectively with sub-1nm thick Ge "quantum wells" and we measure the interfacial strain fields using geometric phase analysis. Narrow Ge layers show radial strains of several percent, with a correspondingmore » dilation in the axial direction. Si/Ge interfaces show lattice rotation and curvature of the lattice planes. We conclude that high strains can be achieved, compared to what is possible in planar layers. In addition, we study the stability of these heterostructures under heating and electron beam irradiation. The strain and composition gradients are supposed to the cause of the instability for interdiffusion.« less

Impurity distribution and microstructure of Ga-doped ZnO films grown by molecular beam epitaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kvit, A. V.; Yankovich, A. B.; Avrutin, V.; Liu, H.; Izyumskaya, N.; Özgür, Ü.; Morkoç, H.; Voyles, P. M.

2012-12-01

We report microstructural characterization of heavily Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) thin films on GaN and sapphire by aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy. Growth under oxygen-rich and metal-rich growth conditions leads to changes in the GZO polarity and different extended defects. For GZO layers on sapphire, the primary extended defects are voids, inversion domain boundaries, and low-angle grain boundaries. Ga doping of ZnO grown under metal-rich conditions causes a switch from pure oxygen polarity to mixed oxygen and zinc polarity in small domains. Electron energy loss spectroscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy spectrum imaging show that Ga is homogeneous, but other residual impurities tend to accumulate at the GZO surface and at extended defects. GZO grown on GaN on c-plane sapphire has Zn polarity and no voids. There are misfit dislocations at the interfaces between GZO and an undoped ZnO buffer layer and at the buffer/GaN interface. Low-angle grain boundaries are the only threading microstructural defects. The potential effects of different extended defects and impurity distributions on free carrier scattering are discussed.

Molecular Dynamics Study of High Symmetry Planar Defect Evolution during Growth of CdTe/CdS Films

DOE PAGES

Chavez, Jose Juan; Zhou, Xiao W.; Almeida, Sergio F.; ...

2017-12-15

The growth dynamics and evolution of intrinsic stacking faults, lamellar, and double positioning twin grain boundaries were explored using molecular dynamics simulations during the growth of CdTe homoepitaxy and CdTe/CdS heteroepitaxy. Initial substrate structures were created containing either stacking fault or one type of twin grain boundary, and films were subsequently deposited to study the evolution of the underlying defect. Results show that during homoepitaxy the film growth was epitaxial and the substrate’s defects propagated into the epilayer, except for the stacking fault case where the defect disappeared after the film thickness increased. In contrast, films grown on heteroepitaxy conditionsmore » formed misfit dislocations and grew with a small angle tilt (within ~5°) of the underlying substrate’s orientation to alleviate the lattice mismatch. Grain boundary proliferation was observed in the lamellar and double positioning twin cases. Finally, our study indicates that it is possible to influence the propagation of high symmetry planar defects by selecting a suitable substrate defect configuration, thereby controlling the film defect morphology.« less

Molecular Dynamics Study of High Symmetry Planar Defect Evolution during Growth of CdTe/CdS Films

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chavez, Jose Juan; Zhou, Xiao W.; Almeida, Sergio F.

The growth dynamics and evolution of intrinsic stacking faults, lamellar, and double positioning twin grain boundaries were explored using molecular dynamics simulations during the growth of CdTe homoepitaxy and CdTe/CdS heteroepitaxy. Initial substrate structures were created containing either stacking fault or one type of twin grain boundary, and films were subsequently deposited to study the evolution of the underlying defect. Results show that during homoepitaxy the film growth was epitaxial and the substrate’s defects propagated into the epilayer, except for the stacking fault case where the defect disappeared after the film thickness increased. In contrast, films grown on heteroepitaxy conditionsmore » formed misfit dislocations and grew with a small angle tilt (within ~5°) of the underlying substrate’s orientation to alleviate the lattice mismatch. Grain boundary proliferation was observed in the lamellar and double positioning twin cases. Finally, our study indicates that it is possible to influence the propagation of high symmetry planar defects by selecting a suitable substrate defect configuration, thereby controlling the film defect morphology.« less

X-ray characterization of Ge dots epitaxially grown on nanostructured Si islands on silicon-on-insulator substrates.

PubMed

Zaumseil, Peter; Kozlowski, Grzegorz; Yamamoto, Yuji; Schubert, Markus Andreas; Schroeder, Thomas

2013-08-01

On the way to integrate lattice mismatched semiconductors on Si(001), the Ge/Si heterosystem was used as a case study for the concept of compliant substrate effects that offer the vision to be able to integrate defect-free alternative semiconductor structures on Si. Ge nanoclusters were selectively grown by chemical vapour deposition on Si nano-islands on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates. The strain states of Ge clusters and Si islands were measured by grazing-incidence diffraction using a laboratory-based X-ray diffraction technique. A tensile strain of up to 0.5% was detected in the Si islands after direct Ge deposition. Using a thin (∼10 nm) SiGe buffer layer between Si and Ge the tensile strain increases to 1.8%. Transmission electron microscopy studies confirm the absence of a regular grid of misfit dislocations in such structures. This clear experimental evidence for the compliance of Si nano-islands on SOI substrates opens a new integration concept that is not only limited to Ge but also extendable to semiconductors like III-V and II-VI materials.

Experimental study of disorder in a semiconductor microcavity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gurioli, M.; Bogani, F.; Wiersma, D. S.; Roussignol, Ph.; Cassabois, G.; Khitrova, G.; Gibbs, H.

2001-10-01

A detailed study of the structural disorder in wedge semiconductor microcavities (MC's) is presented. We demonstrate that images of the coherent emission from the MC surface can be used for a careful characterization of both intrinsic and extrinsic optical properties of semiconductor MC's. The polariton broadening can be measured directly, avoiding the well-known problem of inhomogeneous broadening due to the MC wedge. A statistical analysis of the spatial line shape of the images of the MC surface shows the presence of static disorder associated with dielectric fluctuations in the Bragg reflector. Moreover, the presence of local fluctuations of the effective cavity length can be detected with subnanometer resolution. The analysis of the resonant Rayleigh scattering (RRS) gives additional information on the origin of the disorder. We find that the RRS is dominated by the scattering of the photonic component of the MC polariton by disorder in the Bragg reflector. Also the RRS is strongly enhanced along the [110] and [11¯0] directions. This peculiar scattering pattern is attributed to misfit dislocations induced by the large thickness of the mismatched AlGaAs alloy in the Bragg mirrors.

Three-dimensional studies of intergranular carbides in austenitic stainless steel.

PubMed

Ochi, Minoru; Kawano, Rika; Maeda, Takuya; Sato, Yukio; Teranishi, Ryo; Hara, Toru; Kikuchi, Masao; Kaneko, Kenji

2017-04-01

A large number of morphological studies of intergranular carbides in steels have always been carried out in two dimensions without considering their dispersion manners. In this article, focused ion beam serial-sectioning tomography was carried out to study the correlation among the grain boundary characteristics, the morphologies and the dispersions of intergranular carbides in 347 austenitic stainless steel. More than hundred intergranular carbides were characterized in three dimensions and finally classified into three different types, two types of carbides probably semi-coherent to one of the neighboring grains with plate-type morphology, and one type of carbides incoherent to both grains with rod-type morphology. In addition, the rod-type carbide was found as the largest number of carbides among three types. Since large numbers of defects, such as misfit dislocations, may be present at the grain boundaries, which can be ideal nucleation sites for intergranular rod-type carbide precipitation. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Japanese Society of Microscopy. All rights reserved.For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Unveiling the Semicoherent Interface with Definite Orientation Relationships between Reinforcements and Matrix in Novel Al3BC/Al Composites.

PubMed

Zhao, Yongfeng; Qian, Zhao; Ma, Xia; Chen, Houwen; Gao, Tong; Wu, Yuying; Liu, Xiangfa

2016-10-05

High-strength lightweight Al-based composites are promising materials for a wide range of applications. To provide high performance, a strong bonding interface for effective load transfer from the matrix to the reinforcement is essential. In this work, the novel Al 3 BC reinforced Al composites have been in situ fabricated through a liquid-solid reaction method and the bonding interface between Al 3 BC and Al matrix has been unveiled. The HRTEM characterizations on the Al 3 BC/Al interface verify it to be a semicoherent bonding structure with definite orientation relationships: (0001) Al 3 BC //(11̅1) Al ;[112̅0] Al 3 BC //[011] Al . Periodic arrays of geometrical misfit dislocations are also observed along the interface at each (0001) Al 3 BC plane or every five (11̅1) Al planes. This kind of interface between the reinforcement and the matrix is strong enough for effective load transfer, which would lead to the evidently improved strength and stiffness of the introduced new Al 3 BC/Al composites.

Effects of Grain Size and Twin Layer Thickness on Crack Initiation at Twin Boundaries.

PubMed

Zhou, Piao; Zhou, Jianqiu; Zhu, Yongwei; Jiang, E; Wang, Zikun

2018-04-01

A theoretical model to explore the effect on crack initiation of nanotwinned materials was proposed based on the accumulation of dislocations at twin boundaries. First, a critical cracking initiation condition was established considering the number of dislocations pill-up at TBs, grain size and twin layer thickness, and a semi-quantitative relationship between the crystallographic orientation and the stacking fault energy was built. In addition, the number of dislocations pill-up was described by introducing the theory of strain gradient. Based on this model, the effects of grain size and twin lamellae thickness on dislocation density and crack initiation at twin boundaries were also discussed. The simulation results demonstrated that the crack initiation resistance can be improved by decreasing the grain size and increasing the twin lamellae, which keeps in agreement with recent experimental findings reported in the literature.

Local Variability of the Peierls Barrier of Screw Dislocations in Ta-10W.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Foiles, Stephen M.

2017-10-01

It is well know that the addition of substitutional elements changes the mechanical behavior of metals, a effect referred to solid solution hardening. For body-centered-cubic (BCC) metals, screw dislocation play a key role in the mechanical properties. Here the detailed modification of the Peierls barrier for screw dislocation motion in Ta with W substitutional atoms is computing using density functional theory (DFT). A reduced order model (ROM) of the influence of W substitution on the Peierls barrier is developed. The mean field change in the Peierls barrier for a Ta10W alloy is determined and shown to be larger than anticipatedmore » based on simple elasticity considerations. The ROM could be used in future calculations to determine the local variability of the Peierls barrier and the resultant influence on the motion of screw dislocation in this alloy.« less

In situ synchrotron tensile investigations on 14YWT, MA957, and 9-Cr ODS alloys

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lin, Jun-Li; Mo, Kun; Yun, Di

2016-04-01

Advanced ODS alloys provide exceptional radiation tolerance and high-temperature mechanical properties when compared to traditional ferritic and ferritic/martensitic 9F/M) steels. Their remarkable properties result from ultrahigh density and ultrafine size of Y-Ti-O nanoclusters within the ferritic matrix. In this work, we applied a high-energy synchrotron radiation X-ray to study the deformation process of three advanced ODS materials including 14YWT, MA957, and 9-Cr ODS steel. Only the relatively large nanoparticles in the 9-Cr ODS were observed in the synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The nanoclusters in both 14YWT and MA957 were invisible in the measurement due to their non-stoichiometric nature. Due to themore » different sizes of nanoparticles and nanoclusters in the materials, the Orowan looping was considered to be the major strengthening mechanism in the 9-Cr ODS, while the dispersed-barrier-hardening is dominant strengthening mechanism in both 14YWT and MA957, This analysis was inferred from the different build-up rates of dislocation density when plastic deformation was initiated. Finally, the dislocation densities interpreted from the X-ray measurements were successfully modeled using the Bergstrom's dislocation models. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.« less

Geometrically Nonlinear Field Fracture Mechanics and Crack Nucleation, Application to Strain Localization Fields in Al-Cu-Li Aerospace Alloys.

PubMed

Gupta, Satyapriya; Taupin, Vincent; Fressengeas, Claude; Jrad, Mohamad

2018-03-27

The displacement discontinuity arising between crack surfaces is assigned to smooth densities of crystal defects referred to as disconnections, through the incompatibility of the distortion tensor. In a dual way, the disconnections are defined as line defects terminating surfaces where the displacement encounters a discontinuity. A conservation statement for the crack opening displacement provides a framework for disconnection dynamics in the form of transport laws. A similar methodology applied to the discontinuity of the plastic displacement due to dislocations results in the concurrent involvement of dislocation densities in the analysis. Non-linearity of the geometrical setting is assumed for defining the elastic distortion incompatibility in the presence of both dislocations and disconnections, as well as for their transport. Crack nucleation in the presence of thermally-activated fluctuations of the atomic order is shown to derive from this nonlinearity in elastic brittle materials, without any algorithmic rule or ad hoc material parameter. Digital image correlation techniques applied to the analysis of tensile tests on ductile Al-Cu-Li samples further demonstrate the ability of the disconnection density concept to capture crack nucleation and relate strain localization bands to consistent disconnection fields and to the eventual occurrence of complex and combined crack modes in these alloys.

Microstructures and mechanical behavior of magnesium processed by ECAP at ice-water temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zuo, Dai; Li, Taotao; Liang, Wei; Wen, Xiyu; Yang, Fuqian

2018-05-01

Magnesium of high purity is processed by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) up to eight passes at the ice-water temperature, in which a core–shell-like structure is used. The core–shell-like structure consists of pure iron (Fe) of 1.5 mm in thickness as the shell and magnesium (Mg) as the core. The microstructure, texture and mechanical behavior of the ECAP-processed Mg are studied. The ECAP processing leads to the formation of fine and equiaxed grains of ~1.1 µm. The basal planes initially parallel to the extrusion direction evolve to slanted basal planes with the tilting angle in a range of 25°–45° to the extrusion direction. Increasing the number of the extrusion passes leads to the decreasing of twins and dislocation density in grains, while individual grains after eight passes still have high dislocation density. The large decreases of twins and the dislocation density make dynamic recrystallization (DRX) difficult, resulting in the decrease of the degree of DRX. Tension test reveals that the mechanical behavior of the ECAP-processed Mg is dependent on grain refinement and textures. The yield strength of the ECAP-extruded Mg first increases with the decrease of the grain size, and then decreases with further decrease of the grain size.