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Fracture modes in micropillar compression of brittle crystals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 September 2011

Philip R. Howie ,
Sandra Korte  and
William J. Clegg
Philip R. Howie*
Affiliation:
Gordon Laboratory, Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, United Kingdom
Sandra Korte
Affiliation:
Gordon Laboratory, Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, United Kingdom
William J. Clegg
Affiliation:
Gordon Laboratory, Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, United Kingdom
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: prh33@cam.ac.uk
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Abstract

This article describes cracking during microcompression of Si, InAs, MgO, and MgAl2O4 crystals and compares this with previous observations on Si and GaAs micropillars. The most common mode of cracking was through-thickness axial splitting, the crack growing downward from intersecting slip bands in pillars above a critical size. The splitting behavior observed in all of these materials was quantitatively consistent with a previous analysis, despite the differences in properties and slip geometry between the different materials. Cracking above the slip bands also occurred either in the side or in the top surface of some pillars. The driving forces for these modes of cracking are described and compared with observations. However, only through-thickness axial splitting was observed to give complete failure of the pillar; it is, therefore, considered to be the most important in determining the brittle-to-ductile transitions that have been observed.

Keywords

FractureToughnessCeramic
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 27 , Issue 1: Focus Issue: Instrumented Indentation , 14 January 2012 , pp. 141 - 151
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2011

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