Planar defects in epitaxial DySi thin films on 111/Si

A high density of planar defects was found by transmission electron microscopy in DySi2yx thin films. The planar defects were analyzed to be stacking faults of shear type on 00014planes with 1r6 1213:displacement vectors. The density of stacking faults was observed to decrease with annealing temperature and time. The accommodation of misfit between coalescing islands is suggested as the origin for the formation of stacking faults in epitaxial DySi2yx films on 111.Si. q1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.