Atomistic Understanding of Dislocation Climb in Nitride Semiconductors: Role of Asymmetric Jogs

作者：Han Yang, Xiangru Han, Xuelin Yang, Yingming Song, Beile Chen, Zhenghao Chen, Guangxu Ju, Fujun Xu, Ning Tang, Tongjun Yu, Xinqiang Wang, Weikun Ge, Bing Huang, Bo Shen · 发表于：Physical Review Letters · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1103/physrevlett.134.056102 · 被引用次数：6 · 研究领域：Metal and Thin Film Mechanics、Boron and Carbon Nanomaterials Research、Microstructure and mechanical properties

Effective control of dislocation climb is of fundamental interest and practical importance in tuning the mechanical and electronic properties of semiconductors. However, it remains a big challenge due to the lack of a clear understanding of its inherent mechanism, in particular, in the nitride semiconductors. In this Letter, the atomic-scale climb process of a single dislocation in GaN is observed for the first time, which undergoes an alternating five- and nine-atomic-ring transformation. Combined with first-principles calculations, we reveal that the jogs exhibiting asymmetric atomic configurations play an unexpected role in determining the different dislocation climb behaviors in GaN. Interestingly, tuning the Fermi-level position by electroactive dopants can selectively generate different species of jogs, which can consequently manipulate the dislocation climb behaviors and dislocation dissociation in a controllable way. Our findings not only highlight the significant role the asymmetric jogs play in the dislocation climb in nitrides, but also suggest a clear routine to control dislocation dynamics in semiconductors.