The energetic, dynamic and kinetic aspects of such non-uniformities in the misfit dislocation distribution along nano-scale layer interfaces were considered. It was demonstrated that they were related to interactions which occurred in the defect ensemble in the layer. The energetic approach was based upon an analysis of the total energy density dependence upon the number of misfit dislocations in a row. This approach permitted the deduction of those critical parameters (misfit strain, layer thickness) which corresponded to a transition between uniform and non-uniform misfit dislocation distributions. The dynamic criterion was deduced by analyzing the conditions for surface dislocation-source initiation. In this model, misfit dislocation rows generated back-stresses which locked the dislocation sources. A 3-element defect reaction-diffusion scheme was proposed for the analysis of dislocation kinetics in nano-scale layers. It was assumed that the defect ensemble consisted of gliding, climbing and misfit dislocations. The existence of a critical layer thickness was predicted, above which temporal oscillations in the defect densities appeared.

M.J.Gutkin, A.E.Romanov, E.C.Aifantis: Nanostructured Materials, 1995, 6[5-8], 771-4