Ozan Ugurlu

Deconfinement leads to changes in the nanoscale plasticity of silicon

Silicon crystals have an important role in the electronics industry, and silicon nanoparticles have applications in areas such as nanoelectromechanical systems, photonics and biotechnology. However, the elastic-plastic transition observed in silicon is not fully understood; in particular, it is not known if the plasticity of silicon is determined by dislocations or by transformations between phases. Here, based on compression experiments and molecular dynamics simulations, we show that the mechanical properties of bulk silicon and silicon nanoparticles are significantly different. We find that bulk silicon exists in a state of relative constraint, with its plasticity dominated by phase transformations, whereas silicon nanoparticles are less constrained and display dislocation-driven plasticity. This transition, which we call deconfinement, can also explain the absence of phase transformations in deformed silicon nanowedges. Furthermore, the phenomenon is in agreement with effects observed in shape-memory alloy nanopillars, and provides insight into the origin of incipient plasticity.

Smaller is tougher

“Smaller is stronger” is now a tenet generally consistent with the predominance of evidence. An equally accepted tenet is that fracture toughness almost always decreases with increasing yield strength. Can “smaller is tougher” then be consistent with these two tenets? It is taught in undergraduate engineering courses that one design parameter that allows for both increased strength and fracture toughness is reduced grain size. The present study on the very brittle semiconductor silicon proves this exception to the rule and demonstrates that smaller can be both stronger and tougher. Three nanostructures are considered theoretically and experimentally: thin films, nanospheres, and nanopillars. Using a simple work per unit fracture area approach, it is shown at small scale that toughness is inversely proportional to the square root of size. This is supported by experimental evidence from in situ electron microscopy nanoindentation at length scales of less than a micron. It is further suggested that dislocation shielding can explain both strength and toughness increases at the small scales.

Spontaneously Formed FePt Graded Granular Media With a Large Gain Factor

In conventional magnetic recording media fabrication processes, magnetically soft regions of composite or graded material are prepared by varying either the substrate temperature or the film composition during deposition. In this work, ultrathin FePt granular media with graded composition was fabricated directly by spontaneous layer diffusion between FePt and Pt layers during the film deposition. Electron energy loss spectroscopy analysis on individual FePt columnar grains identified the composition distribution of Fe and confirmed the Fe composition gradient. A large “gain factor” of 3.74, indicative of a relatively high-thermal energy barrier, was obtained in this spontaneously formed FePt graded granular media.