Frank Read sources in semiconductors

Dislocations in semiconductors can start to multiply at Frank Read sources. Since in the pre-yield region they are aligned along the 〈1 1 0〉 directions, it is possible to calculate the energy of a bow-out analytically and to derive an expression for the stress necessary to activate a Frank Read source. For the hexagonal loops emitted, there exists a metastable equilibrium configuration, and the stress dependence of its magnitude and shape has been determined.