Stacking fault domains as sources of a-type threading dislocations in III-nitride heterostructures

Abstract

A mechanism for the nucleation of a-type threading dislocation half-loops from basal stacking faults in wurtzite III-nitride heterostructures is presented. Transmission electron microscopy observations, in conjunction with topological and strain analysis, show that there are two possible configurations of closed domains comprising basal stacking faults of I1 type. It is shown that the lattice dislocation may emanate when the sphalerite structural units of the stacking faults in the closed domain are oriented in a parallel manner. The closed domain configurations do not introduce any shift on the basal planes, resulting in zero defect content along the growth direction. The stacking fault domains are hexagonal, with sides along the ⟨101¯0⟩ directions, and the threading dislocation half loops nucleate at the line nodes. The mechanism was found to be operational in multiple III-nitride systems.