Stacking-fault based microscopic model for platelets in diamond.

We propose a new model for {001} platelets in diamond based on the formation of a metastable stacking-fault. The core of the defect is a double layer of threefold coordinated sp2 carbon atoms embedded in the sp3 diamond matrix. The properties of the model were determined using ab initio calculations. All significant experimental signatures attributed to the platelets are fully accounted for. The model is also very appealing from the point of view of kinetics, since naturally occurring shearing processes will lead to the formation of the metastable fault.