Plasticity of III—V Compounds at Low Temperatures

Plastic deformation of GaAs, InP, and InSb under hydrostatic confining pressure has been performed in the temperature range 77 to 500 K. Slip lines indicate cross-slip of screw dislocations. Electron microscopy reveals long screw dislocations left in the deformed specimens. The temperature dependence of the critical shear stress τc below 300 K is weak, producing a hump in the τc — T curve. The kink pair formation of non-dissociated screw dislocations in the shuffle set planes is responsible for the plastic deformation at low temperatures.