Identification of Burgers vector of defects

[Xtof]

Dear Alex and OVITO users,

Under collision cascade, sometimes, relatively large clusters of defects can form. In particular, Dislocation Loops.

I would like to determine their Burgers vector. Is it possible with the Dislocation Analysis modifier? If so, I would like to know if it is possible to distinguish between defects with a Burgers vector <111> from those with a Burgers vector <-1 1 1>.

With best regards,
Christophe

[Alexander Stukowski]

Hi Christophe,

Please excuse the late reply. I was away from work for some time and lost track of the incoming requests.

The DXA function of OVITO can identify dislocation loops (including their Burgers vector) if they are not too small. What "not too small" means is not so easy to define precisely, but it basically means that the defect must be ring-like and not sphere-like. There must be some "good" crystal material in the center of the defect and the defect atoms should form a loop structure around it. Then the DXA function will identify it as a dislocation loop with a certain Burgers vector and produce a corresponding line representation of the defect.

Hope that answers your question. Let me know if you need further help.

-Alex