Electronic properties of stacking faults in 15R-SiC

A first-principles calculation of stacking faults in 15R-SiC is reported. All the geometrically distinguishable stacking faults which can be introduced by the glide of partial dislocations in (0001)-basal planes are investigated: there exist as many as five different stacking faults in 15R-SiC. Electronic properties and stacking fault energies of these extended defects are studied based on the density functional theory in the local density approximation. Stacking fault energies are also calculated using the axial next nearest neighbor Ising (ANNNI) model.