Nanowire size-effect on the equilibrium positions of a dislocation dipole

The stability of a dipole of edge dislocations embedded in a cylindrical nanowire of infinite length has been theoretically investigated from a Peach–Koehler (PK) force analysis. Calculating both gliding and climbing components of the PK force, the stable and unstable equilibrium positions of the dislocations have been characterized when the two dislocations, symmetrically displayed with respect to the nanowire center, have the same Burgers vector and when the Burgers vectors are of opposite signs. The size effect of the nanowire on the stability of the dislocations and their relative position to each other are finally discussed and compared to the case where the dislocations are embedded in an infinite-size solid.