Surface step effects on Si (100) under uniaxial tensile stress, by atomistic calculations

TL;DR

This study uses atomistic calculations to investigate how surface steps on silicon (100) surfaces respond to uniaxial tensile stress, revealing that dislocation nucleation does not occur under the tested conditions, contrasting with metal behavior.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the mechanical response of silicon surfaces, highlighting the role of covalent bonding and crystal structure in dislocation nucleation.

Findings

No dislocations generated under tested conditions

Behavior differs from metals due to covalent bonding

Cubic diamond structure influences dislocation nucleation

Abstract

This paper reports a study of the influence of the step at a silicon surface under an uniaxial tensile stress, using an empirical potential. Our aim was to find conditions leading to nucleation of dislocations from the step. We obtained that no dislocations could be generated with such conditions. This behaviour, different from the one predicted for metals, could be attributed either to the covalent bonding or to the cubic diamond structure.