A so-called 2½-dimensional technique was applied to an analysis of the nature of small point-defect clusters in ion-bombarded samples. A modification was introduced in order to eliminate reciprocal-lattice spike effects which arose from stacking faults. A comparison with analyses of the same defects, by using the black-white contrast method, showed that even when reciprocal-lattice spike effects were excluded the 2½-dimensional technique still failed to give reliable results. It was concluded that the technique was not suitable for the analysis of small point-defect clusters in materials which contained small faulted loops or stacking-fault tetrahedra, and was perhaps unsuitable for the analysis of any type of small cluster.

H.Fukushima, M.L.Jenkins, M.A.Kirk: Philosophical Magazine A, 1997, 75[6], 1567-82