Multiple atomic configurations of the a edge threading dislocation in GaN

High-resolution transmission electron microscopy has recently shown that three atomic configurations of edge threading dislocations can exist in GaN. In this work, we have used a modified empirical potential (Stillinger–Weber) to calculate the energy of these three configurations. The obtained results show that the five-/seven-atom configuration is the most stable, and the four-atom configuration has the highest energy, confirming the experimental observations.