What is Critical thickness?

The maximum thickness to which a lattice-mismatched layer can be grown while staying strained without forming dislocations. Beyond it, misfit dislocations appear.

Field: Epitaxial growth

Critical thickness in the explanations

Questions that mention Critical thickness (2)

  1. Which correctly describes the critical thickness in heteroepitaxial growth?
  2. What problem tends to occur when there is a large difference in lattice constant (lattice mismatch) between the substrate and the grown film?

Related terms

SiGe (silicon-germanium) Lattice mismatch 4H-SiC Autodoping Epitaxial growth Epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO) Heteroepitaxy HVPE (hydride vapor phase epitaxy) MBE (molecular beam epitaxy) Misfit dislocation

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