The prediction and confirmation of critical epitaxial parameters

The coherency-incoherency transition in epitaxial crystals is said to take place at a critical misfit f(c) or, for a system in which a monolayer is subcritical, at a critical thickness h(c). In this paper, the physical principles and models used to predict critical parameters are analyzed and put into perspective. The dependence of the relevant principles on the equilibrium-nonequilibrium conditions under which the quantities are measured in practice is stressed. The advantages and disadvantages of the models used (essentially the Frenkel-Kontorowa and Volterra models) are highlighted.