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We study the activation barriers to strain relaxation in metastable Ge₀. ₂₅Si₀. ₇₅/Si (100) films by in situ annealing in a transmission electron microscope, observing in real time the dynamic relaxation events of misfit-dislocation nucleation, propagation, and interaction as a function of the sample annealing temperature. Activation energies for misfit-dislocation nucleation and propagation are obtained, and it is firmly established that both these processes and dislocation interactions inhibit strain relaxation in GeₗSi₁-ₗ/Si epitaxy.
Hull et al. (1989) studied this question.