Single Shockley stacking fault expansion from immobile basal plane dislocations in 4H-SiC

Abstract Some combinations of immobile partial dislocations (PDs) that constitute basal plane dislocations (BPDs) have not previously been considered as sources for single Shockley stacking fault expansion. We searched for and found this type of BPD and investigated its structure. The realistic reason for immobile C-core PDs being converted into mobile Si-core PDs is speculated from the results obtained by plan-view transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and cross-sectional scanning TEM. A model is proposed from a dynamic viewpoint for interpreting the mechanism of core-species change by step-flow motion during epitaxial crystal growth in 4H-SiC. Moreover, all possible combinations of immobile PDs are summarized and the necessary condition for immobile BPDs to change to include mobile PDs is discussed.