A new technique was proposed for the study of extended defects and dislocation networks. The approach was based upon the continuum theory of crystal defects and was used for the digital image-processing of high-resolution transmission electron micrographs. The procedure started from the geometrical phase method for deducing the lattice distortion field near to dislocation cores. The dislocation core distribution was then recovered from the lattice distortion field. The dislocation core distribution field thus obtained took non-zero values only in disordered regions of the lattice. The accuracy of the method was investigated by performing a mathematical integration of the dislocation field over core regions in order to find the in-plane components of the Burgers vectors. The proposed method was free of topological problems and could be used to study spatial configurations of complex defects within large crystal areas. It was used to investigate networks of misfit dislocations in the interfacial region of a GaAs/ZnTe/CdTe heterostructure.

Measurement of Dislocation Core Distribution by Digital Processing of High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy Micrographs: a New Technique for Studying Defects. S.Kret, P.Dłużewski, P.Dłużewski, E.Sobczak: Journal of Physics - Condensed Matter, 2000, 12[49], 10313-8