Temperature dependence of the stacking-fault energy in GaAs

GaAs single crystals have been indented by a Vickers indenter at room temperature and 77 K. Dislocations thereby introduced were studied using the weak-beam method of electron microscopy. The dislocations have a Burgers vector of (a/2) d 110 ¢ and are dissociated into two Shockley partials. The stacking-fault energy decreases from 43 mJ m m 2 at 923 K to 15 mJ m m 2 at 77 K.