The mobility of partial dislocations in thin foils was studied by performing in situ tensile tests in a transmission electron microscope at 390K. Numerous sources were observed to emit partial dislocations that propagated in a correlated or uncorrelated manner. The velocity of partial dislocations was found to depend upon their length, and a large enhancement of dislocation movement under electronic excitation was noted. The results were analyzed within the general framework of the Peierls mechanism, with a second-order lattice friction on kinks.

A.Faress, S.Farenc, C.Levade, G.Vanderschaeve: Physica Status Solidi A, 1993, 137[2], 435-46