It was noted that the perfect 60° glide dislocation in diamond served as an example of how various aspects of dislocations could be modeled by using an approach which combined continuum elasticity theory with atomistic density-functional based tight-binding calculations. After investigating the perfect 60° dislocation, and its isolated Shockley partials, it was found that the 60° dislocation dissociated with a substantial lowering of its line energy. However, an energy barrier to dissociation was found. The glide motion of the 30° Shockley partial which was involved was modeled as a process that involved the thermal formation and subsequent migration of kinks along the dislocation line.

The 60° Dislocation in Diamond and its Dissociation. A.T.Blumenau, R.Jones, T.Frauenheim: Journal of Physics - Condensed Matter, 2003, 15[39], S2951-60