Critical layer thickness of wurtzite heterostructures with arbitrary pairs of growth planes and slip systems

We establish a calculation method to determine the critical layer thickness of the lattice relaxation in wurtzite heterostructures with arbitrary pairs of growth planes and slip systems. The calculation, which is based on the force balance model, takes the friction force and thermal assistance for the dislocation motion into account. Experimentally, Al_xGa_1 − xN/AlN heterostructures are fabricated. The established method well reproduces the crystallographic orientations of experimentally observed dislocation lines. (paper)