By using molecular statics methods, calculations were made of the variation in the excess energy that was associated with a gradual approach of an edge dislocation to the free surface of a crystal. The calculations used a phenomenological potential for Al, and the procedure permitted the investigations of both the extended and perfect configurations of the dislocation core. An estimate of the energy which was required for the introduction of a dislocation into a thin film was thereby obtained.

Atomistic Calculation of the Interaction between an Edge Dislocation and a Free Surface A.Aslanides, V.Pontikis: Philosophical Magazine Letters, 1998, 78[5], 377-83