Dependence of equilibrium stacking fault width on thickness of Cu thin films: A molecular dynamics study

Abstract

In face centered cubic systems, due to decrease in energy all perfect dislocations dissociates into two Shockley partials separated by stacking fault width. The stacking fault width, which influences the deformation behavior depends on many factors such as composition, stacking fault energy, temperature, surface energy and applied stress. Additionally in thin films, thickness also influences the stacking fault width of dissociated dislocations. In this paper, we investigate the effect of thin film thickness on stacking fault width in Cu using molecular dynamics simulations. The results indicate that with increase in film thickness from 1.25 nm to 11 nm, the stacking fault width increases from 1.6 nm to 3.12 nm. A bi-linear behavior has been observed. Above 11 nm thickness, the width of stacking fault has attained a saturation at higher thickness. This thickness dependent dissociation has been explained using the concept of image dislocations and associated image forces.