Interactions of deformation-induced dislocations with Σ = 9(122) grain boundaries in Si studied by HREM

The mechanisms of interaction between a twin boundary and dislocations created during the deformation of a bicrystal are analysed by means of HREM. It is shown, on an atomic scale, that intrinsic dislocations enter the grain boundary where they decompose into discrete grain-boundary dislocations with Burgers vectors belonging to the DSC lattice. These residues can migrate along the interface and interact, giving rise to new residues. It is shown that, when the strain remains low enough, the grain-boundary deformation history can be deduced from the HREM observations.