Transmission electron microscopy was used to investigate the (11▪0) and (11▪3) inversion domain boundaries in films prepared by molecular beam epitaxy. The inversion domain was revealed by dark-field imaging, and confirmed by convergent-beam electron diffraction. Upon interacting with a (00▪2) stacking fault, the inversion domain boundary in the (11▪0) plane altered its orientation with respect to the [00▪1] direction and climbed on the (11▪3) plane to release strain energy. These features were characterized and analyzed by using high-resolution electron microscopy and the geometric phase method. The findings helped in understanding the formation and propagation of inverse domain boundaries in epitaxial ZnO films.

Inversion Domain Boundary in a ZnO Film. Y.Z.Liu, H.T.Yuan, Z.Q.Zeng, X.L.Du, X.D.Han, Q.K.Xue, Z.Zhang: Philosophical Magazine Letters, 2007, 87[9], 687-93