The intercalation of CuO layers in this 123 compound was analyzed in terms of the movement of partial dislocations in the matrix; assisted by CuO diffusion. The effect of an external stress upon the nucleation of such a CuO layer, in a perfect or dislocated crystal, was considered. Several mechanisms for the nucleation and propagation of so-called 1/6<301> stacking faults were considered, and it was shown that dislocations provided sites for the nucleation of such defects. Stress could favor this nucleation process. A new mechanism of partial dislocation source operation, assisted by CuO diffusion, was shown to operate when the stress tensor exerted glide as well as climb forces on the constituent partial dislocations. Depending upon the stress tensor which acted upon the dislocation configuration, various mechanisms could operate. This led to the propagation of only a single layer of stacking fault, or of several layers on adjacent (001) planes; which led to the local formation of polytypoids. This showed that the sources of stresses in the present material could be relaxed by the nucleation of such defects, so that the large density of stacking faults which was found in thin films and textured materials could be explained by the proposed mechanism. By introducing dislocations, and by assuming suitable stress conditions, the nucleation of 1/6<301> faults could be monitored.

J.Rabier: Philosophical Magazine A, 1997, 75[2], 285-300