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Title: The influence of hold time on the onset of plastic deformation in silicon

Journal Article · · Journal of Applied Physics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4938480· OSTI ID:22493116
 [1]; ;  [2]
  1. Chemical and Engineering Materials Division, Neutron Sciences Directorate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37781 (United States)
  2. Department of Electronic Materials Engineering, Research School of Physics and Engineering, The Australian National University, Canberra 0200 (Australia)

The transformation of diamond-cubic silicon to the metallic β-Sn phase is known to be “sluggish,” even when the critical pressure (∼11 GPa) for the transformation is reached. In this letter, we use nanoindentation to apply pressures to just above the critical threshold. In this regime, the sample displays purely elastic behavior at zero hold time. As the hold time at maximum load is increased up to 180 s, the percentage of indents that plastically deform also increase. Interestingly, the indents deform via one of two distinct processes: either via a phase transformation to a mixed bc8/r8-Si end phase, or by initiation of crystalline defects. Raman spectroscopy and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy are used to show that the two deformation mechanisms are mutually exclusive under the indentation conditions presented here, and elastic modelling was utilized to propose a model for this mutually exclusive behavior. Hence, this behavior enhances the potential for application of the exotic bc8/r8-Si end phase.

OSTI ID:
22493116
Journal Information:
Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 118, Issue 24; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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