The atomic structures of crystallographic shear planes in nanocrystalline thin films were investigated by means of high-resolution electron microscopy. The films were prepared by electron beam evaporation under a high vacuum (10-6torr), followed by annealing in air (700C, 1 to 2h). Crystallographic shear planes with a displacement vector of [½0½] were observed in planes parallel to (¯101), (110) and (¯3¯21). Most of the crystallographic shear planes were found to terminate, or interact with each other, within the oxide crystallites. Partial dislocations existed at terminal points of crystallographic shear planes, or along the intersecting lines of crystallographic shear planes. Steps in shear planes were also observed. On the basis of an analysis of experimental data, it was suggested that the Sn/O ratio at crystallographic shear planes which were not parallel to their displacement vector, at the cores of partial dislocations and at shear plane steps, was higher than that in the perfect structure.

J.G.Zheng, X.Pan, M.Schweizer, U.Weimar, W.Göpel, M.Rühle: Journal of Materials Science, 1996, 31[9], 2317-24