A NEW APPROACH TO CALCULATING THE ENERGY OF SYSTEMS OF MISFIT DISLOCATIONS IN STRAINED EPITAXIAL LAYERS

A new method for calculating the stored elastic energy of epitaxial strained layers containing misfit interfacial dislocations is presented. The method differs from previous approaches in that it explicitly takes into account all dislocation-dislocation interactions and interactions between dislocations and the mismatch stress. The method is unique in that it can be used to calculate the energy of finite and/or irregularly spaced systems of dislocations. Examples are given comparing the energy per unit area of finite and non-uniform systems of dislocations calculated using the present approach with that calculated for the infinite uniform case.