The collapse of stacking-fault tetrahedra by interaction with gliding dislocations

The collapse of stacking-fault tetrahedra (SFT) by gliding dislocations was observed in in situ straining experiments in a transmission electron microscope (TEM). A stacking-fault tetrahedron was collapsed by intersection with a gliding perfect dislocation: only the base portion divided by the gliding plane of the dislocation annihilated, while the apex portion remained intact. As a result of analysis on evolution of atom configuration induced by intersection with perfect dislocation in SFT, it was found that an unusual atom configuration inevitably appeared in one of the ledges formed on stacking-fault planes, which is traditionally called I-ledge: the atoms on adjacent (1 1 1) planes were overlapping each other. The overlapping configuration provides a strong repulsive force, being a conceivable driving force to induce a chain reaction of atom displacements that collapses the SFT base portion.