Geometric effects on dislocation nucleation in strained electronics

Abstract

Dislocation loops may be nucleated from sharp geometric features in strained micro- and nano-electronic devices. This process is investigated by a dissipative cohesive interface model which treats the dislocation core as a continuous, inhomogeneous lattice slip field. As a representative example, we calculate the critical external stress for dislocation nucleation from the edges/corners of a rectangular stress-free Si3N4 pad on a Si substrate as a function of geometric parameters such as the length-to-height ratio and the three-dimensional shape of the pad. The shapes of the dislocations are also simulated.