Stacking-fault tetrahedron (SFT) was a nano- to micrometer size defect that was generated in epitaxialized films originating from impurity atoms on the substrate. The atomistic process of thermal annihilation of the SFT in Si(111) films was investigated using molecular dynamics simulations. It was found that the SFT was annihilated by the movement of Shockley partial dislocations from the top surface to the SFT bottom apex.

Thermal Annihilation Process of Stacking-Fault Tetrahedron Defect in Si-Film Epitaxy. R.Kobayashi, T.Nakayama: Thin Solid Films, 2006, 508[1-2], 29-32