Identification of triangular-shaped defects often appeared in hard-sphere crystals grown on a square pattern under gravity by Monte Carlo simulations

Abstract

In this paper, we have successfully identified the triangular-shaped defect structures with stacking fault tetrahedra. These structure often appeared in hard-sphere (HS) crystals grown on a square pattern under gravity. We have, so far, performed Monte Carlo simulations of the HS crystals under gravity. Single stacking faults as observed previously in the HS crystals grown on a flat wall were not seen in the case of square template. Instead, defect structures with triangular appearance in xz- and yz- projections were appreciable. We have identified them by looking layer by layer. Those structures are surrounded by stacking faults along face-centered cubic (fcc) {111}. Also, we see isolated vacancies and vacancy–interstitial pairs, and we have found octahedral structures surrounded by stacking faults along fcc {111}.