Abstract
The orientation dependence of oxidation-induced stacking-fault nucleation is examined by oxidizing (112)-oriented wafers. When the wafers are abraded prior to oxidation the faults are confined to (111) and (111) planes. In the absence of surface abrasion but in the presence of grown-in point defect complexes in the crystals the faults lie exclusively on (111) planes. Possible mechanisms are suggested to explain the observations.