Dislocation nucleation rates during submonolayer growth of heteroepitaxial thin films

Abstract

Dislocation nucleation rates during submonolayer heteroepitaxial island growth are calculated using a two-dimensional Frenkel-Kontorova (FK) model combined with transition-state theory. A method for determining effective FK adatom pair potentials is tested using embedded atom method (EAM) potentials. Calculated prefactors and activation energies for dislocation nucleation are in excellent agreement with values from a full EAM molecular-dynamics simulation demonstrating the validity of this approach.