Nucleation of stacking faults at oxide precipitate-dislocation complexes in silicon

Nucleation sites of thermal oxidation-induced stacking faults in Czochralski-grown silicon crystals have been studied by transmission electron microscopy. Such sites are commonly found to consist of oxide precipitate-dislocation complexes, which appear as center etch pits in line figures delineating faults in optical observations. Embryonic faults were detected in these complexes. These results are strong evidence that stacking faults in silicon result from dissociation of (1/2) 〈110〉 dislocations on a sessile {111} plane.