In high-resolution electron microscopic images of dislocations which had been obtained with the electron beam incident normal to the slip plane, 30º partial dislocation lines were identified by image processing, and kinks in them were seen with atomic resolution. An analysis of sequential images from the same dislocation lines revealed that geometrical kinks of different signs, 30º (left) and 90º (right), were both mobile; even at room temperature. The generation of kink pairs occurred, somewhat less frequently, during high-resolution electron microscopic observations. The results were explained by recalling that the migration of at least one of the 2 types of kink, and the formation of the smallest double kinks, was enhanced by an electronic excitation which resulted from the electron beam that was used for the high-resolution observations.

M.Inoue, K.Suzuki, H.Amasuga, Y.Mera, K.Maeda: Journal of Applied Physics, 1998, 83[4], 1953-7