Dislocation planes in semiconductors

Dislocations and mainly dislocation planes as the most important non-chemical imperfections in semiconductor crystals are discussed from the aspect of their influence on carrier transport. After a short review of the general properties of grain-boundary planes of medium angle of misfit, the electrical effects are discussed, including the barrier behaviour, the band structure and lifetime anisotropy. Device structures based on these properties of dislocation planes are described, among which the dislocation-field-effect transistor shows promising features as the first temperature-independent transistor in the range 300¿2°K.