Dislocation Gliding in the Two Interfaces of a Layer Embedded in a Matrix

Summary The equilibrium positions of two edge dislocations of opposite Burgers vectors, each one gliding in one of the two interfaces of a thin layer embedded in a matrix of infinite extension, have been theoretically determined from a Peach–Koehler force analysis. The stability of the equilibrium positions of the two dislocations have been characterized as a function of the ratio between the shear modulus of the layer and the one of the matrix. A supercritical bifurcation has been identified such that beyond a critical shear modulus ratio, the stable positions of the two dislocations correspond to a vertical configuration. Below this critical ratio, two symmetrical shifted configurations have been found to be stable, the vertical one being unstable.