Dislocation loops may be nucleated from sharp geometric features in strained micro- and nano-electronic devices. This process was investigated by a dissipative cohesive interface model which treats the dislocation core as a continuous, inhomogeneous lattice slip field. As a representative example, the critical external stress was calculated for dislocation nucleation from the edges/corners of a rectangular stress-free Si3N4 pad on a Si substrate as a function of geometric parameters such as the length-to-height ratio and the three-dimensional shape of the pad. The shapes of the dislocations were also simulated.

Geometric Effects on Dislocation Nucleation in Strained Electronics. T.L.Li, J.H.Lee, Y.F.Gao, G.M.Pharr, M.Huang, T.Y.Tsui: Applied Physics Letters, 2009, 94[17], 171905