Cationic scale growth structure

Nucleation considerations may dictate that the first oxide to form will have an epitaxial relationship with the substrate. This constraint will result in stress development because of the difference in lattice parameter between the metal and the oxide. This mechanism would only seem to generate significant stresses when the oxide is very thin, i.e., for short oxidation times and low oxidation temperatures. However, there are proposals that the action of intrinsic dislocations, in what amounts to a semi-coherent interface, in amuhilating vacancies during cationic scale growth can lead to sizeable stresses. However, there are also interface dislocation structures proposed, which could annihilate vacancies without generating significant stress. ... 

Interface reactions depend on interface structure and vice-versa. The combined effects of these two elements of phase transformations involving the diffusion of reacting species results in interface dynamics as analysed the general case of diffusion-driven phase transformations (Pieraggi etal., 1990). The proposed models can be adapted to the growth of an oxide scale in distinguishing cationic and anionic scale growth. 

---