Dislocation-Induced Birefringence in Silicon Carbide

Abstract

The dislocation-induced birefringence of Silicon Carbide (SiC) is analytically and quantitatively modelled by using the adequate SiC data. A good agreement can be obtained between theory and experiment, provided that a background residual (uniaxial) stress is added to the local dislocation-induced stress. Observations are compatible with or predictable from the Burgers vector values, so that birefringence reveals an interesting tool for probing the nature of the dislocations associated, e.g., to micropipes, also faster than and complementary to the more involved transmission electron microscopy (TEM) technique.