Higher-order Laue zone effects of stacking-faulted crystals

Abstract
The effects of the presence of a stacking fault in austenitic stainless steel on higher-order Laue zone (HOLZ) reflections of convergent-beam electron diffraction patterns were investigated. The splitting of certain HOLZ lines was examined. The parameters affecting the separation of two minima of a split HOLZ line, the related intensity distribution and the position of the two minima with respect to the single dark line in a perfect area of the crystal were determined on the basis of experiments and computations. A many-beam dynamical simulation technique was developed. It provides a convenient and reliable method for stacking-fault identification. Redistribution of excitation of Bloch waves was calculated and used to explain the origin of the HOLZ line splitting. A simple kinematical explanation is also given.