The critical epilayer thickness, for the formation of misfit dislocations at the interface between an epilayer and a substrate with a finite thickness, was derived. The analysis was based upon an energy approach in which the self-energy of dislocations, the interaction energy between dislocations and free surfaces and the lattice mismatch energy of substrate and epilayer were calculated. In order to satisfy the free-surface condition, the superposition principle and Fourier transformations were used to analyze the stress field that was due to an interface dislocation.

Criteria for Formation of Interface Dislocations in a Finite Thickness Epilayer Deposited on a Substrate. T.Y.Zhang, S.Lee, L.J.Guido, C.H.Hsueh: Journal of Applied Physics, 1999, 85[11], 7579-86