The growth of GaN and AlGaN films was accompanied by dislocation bending, interaction, density reduction and tensile stress generation to varying degrees. A kinetic model involving out-diffusion of atoms at the growth surface was adapted to rationalize all of these phenomena using a single platform. Active contribution of dislocation interaction, apart from stress and a surface chemical potential, to the driving force for out-diffusion of atoms from the growth surface was considered. The kinetic model had then been used to explain stress evolution during growth of GaN films on Si using an AlN buffer layer, an example of a most general case. Stress-thickness relations obtained from the model were fitted to experimental data to derive basic out-diffusion parameters. These parameters were used to analyze experimental observations of dislocation structure evolution. The model was able to account for the varying degrees of dislocation bending and interaction observed in these films

Dislocation Bending and Tensile Stress Generation in GaN and AlGaN Films. S.Raghavan, I.C.Manning, X.Weng, J.M.Redwing: Journal of Crystal Growth, 2012, 359, 35-42