Yongming Xing

Full-Field Strain Mapping at a Ge/Si Heterostructure Interface

The misfit dislocations and strain fields at a Ge/Si heterostructure interface were investigated experimentally using a combination of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and quantitative electron micrograph analysis methods. The type of misfit dislocation at the interface was determined to be 60° dislocation and 90° full-edge dislocation. The full-field strains at the Ge/Si heterostructure interface were mapped by using the geometric phase analysis (GPA) and peak pairs analysis (PPA), respectively. The effect of the mask size on the GPA and PPA results was analyzed in detail. For comparison, the theoretical strain fields of the misfit dislocations were also calculated by the Peierls-Nabarro and Foreman dislocation models. The results showed that the optimal mask sizes in GPA and PPA were approximately three tenths and one-tenth of the reciprocal lattice vector, respectively. The Foreman dislocation model with an alterable factor a = 4 can best describe the strain field of the misfit dislocation at the Ge/Si heterostructure interface.

Strain Field Mapping of Dislocations in a Ge/Si Heterostructure

Ge/Si heterostructure with fully strain-relaxed Ge film was grown on a Si (001) substrate by using a two-step process by ultra-high vacuum chemical vapor deposition. The dislocations in the Ge/Si heterostructure were experimentally investigated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The dislocations at the Ge/Si interface were identified to be 90° full-edge dislocations, which are the most efficient way for obtaining a fully relaxed Ge film. The only defect found in the Ge epitaxial film was a 60° dislocation. The nanoscale strain field of the dislocations was mapped by geometric phase analysis technique from the HRTEM image. The strain field around the edge component of the 60° dislocation core was compared with those of the Peierls–Nabarro and Foreman dislocation models. Comparison results show that the Foreman model with a = 1.5 can describe appropriately the strain field around the edge component of a 60° dislocation core in a relaxed Ge film on a Si substrate.

Simulation of near-Crack-Tip Strain Fields on Single-Crystal Silicon Wafer

The failure components made of silicon is an important issue in the electronic and nano-technological developments. A study on the near-crack-tip deformation of single-crystal silicon wafer under tensile load was presented. The strain formulas around the crack tip of mode I crack were deduced from linear elastic fracture mechanics. The strain fields around the crack tip were simulated and analyzed in detail.

Interaction of interfacial thermal residual stress of the adjacent fiber in SiC/Ti-15-3 composites

Because of a significant mismatch between the thermal expansion coefficients of the fiber and the matrix, the interfacial thermal residual stress (TRS) in SiC/Ti-15-3 composites is induced during cooling procedure when continuous SiC fiber reinforced titanium-based composites are manufactured. The distance between fibers varies randomly. The TRS in the region nearby one fiber will be affected by the neighbor fibers. This paper aims to study the fibers interactional influence of neighbor fibers interfacial thermal residual stress. After pushing out neighbor fibers, TRS is measured using micro-moiré interferometry. This process has also been numerically simulated using the finite element software.