Deformation mechanisms of ultra-thin Al layers in Al/SiC nanolaminates as a function of thickness and temperature

The mechanical properties of Al/SiC nanolaminates with layer thicknesses between 10 and 100 nm were studied by nanoindentation in the temperature range 25 to 100 °C. The strength of the Al layers as a function of the layer thickness and temperature was obtained from the hardness of the nanolaminates by an inverse methodology based on the numerical simulation of the nanoindentation tests by means of the finite element method. The room temperature yield stress of the Al layers showed a large ‘the thinner, the stronger’ effect, which depended not only on the layer thickness but also on the microstructure, which changed with the Al layer thickness. The yield stress of the Al layers at ambient temperature was compatible with a deformation mechanism controlled by the interaction of dislocations with grain boundaries for the thicker layers (>50 nm), while confined layer slip appeared to be dominant for layers below 50 nm. There was a dramatic reduction in the Al yield stress with temperature, which increased as the Al layer thickness decreased, and led to an inverse size effect at 100 °C. This behavior was compatible with plastic deformation mechanisms controlled by grain boundary and interface diffusion at 100 °C, which limit the strength of the ultra-thin Al layers.     

Effect of vacancies on incipient plasticity during contact loading

Atomistic simulations and experimental nanoindentation tests were used to examine the effect of vacancies on the inception of plastic deformation in Ni. Molecular dynamics have shown the effect of vacancy position on the yield load and demonstrate a variety of mechanisms which are responsible for the inception of plastic deformation during indentation. In cases where the vacancy position is close to regions of high shear stresses the nucleation of dislocations is related to the location of a vacancy; however, homogeneous nucleation of dislocations is also observed for vacancy-containing crystals. Complementary experiments have been used to demonstrate the effect of indenter size on the onset of yielding in the presence of vacancies. Both the simulations and experiments show that larger indenter tips increase the chance of weakening the material in the presence of vacancies.     

Concluding remarks physical structure of the amorphous state

A year ago we planned this Symposium to give roughly equal representation to studies of amorphous polymers which on the one hand implied that the structure was essentially random and on the other hand suggested order persisting over distances of about 100 Å . In actuality, most of our contributors have endorsed the point of view that the amorphous polymers commonly studied do have random conformations and that long-range structure does not persist. And we must remember that there is a vast body of ex-periments on rubbers and glasses not referred to specifically in this Symposium which would present formidable problems of inter-pretation if random statistics are not applicable as a first approximation.     

Fabrication,morphology and mechanical properties of Al2O3–Al graded coatings on China low activation martensitic steel substrates

Al₂O₃, Al₂O₃/Al and Al₂O₃–Al graded coatings were fabricated on China low activation martensitic steel and silicon substrates by RF magnetron sputtering. The coating composition and cross‐section morphologies were investigated using X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy and field‐emission scanning electron microscopy. The mechanical properties of the coatings were studied using nanoindentation, wafer‐curvature measurements and microscratch tests. The results show that usable Al₂O₃–Al graded coatings could be fabricated. With a more continuous compositional gradient, the interface zone was more compact. The hardness and elastic modulus of Al₂O₃–Al graded coatings were less than those of Al₂O₃ coatings, but greater than those of Al₂O₃/Al coatings. After annealing at 773 K for 3 h, the hardness of Al₂O₃–Al graded coating showed a small increase. The residual stresses in Al₂O₃–Al graded coatings declined to about 0.3 GPa, compared with the 6.6 GPa for Al₂O₃ coating. The adhesion of Al₂O₃ was improved by deposition of Al or Al compositional gradient oxide layers. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nanoindentation and optical properties of poly(4,4′-oxydiphenylene p-phenylene pyromellitimide) copolyimide thin films according to the p-phenylene diamine content

Poly(p-phenylene pyromellitimide) (PMDA-PDA), poly(oxydiphenylene pyromellitimide) (PMDA-ODA), and poly(4,4′-oxydiphenylene p-phenylene pyromellitimide) random copolyimide thin films with different p-phenylene diamine (PDA) contents were prepared. Nanoindentation was used to characterize the mechanical properties (hardness and modulus), and a prism coupler was used for measuring the optical properties (refractive index and birefringence). The hardness and modulus were calculated from curves of the nanoindentation load versus the displacement. The effect of the PDA content on the hardness and modulus was studied. The hardness of the polyimide thin films varied from 0.248 to 0.613 GPa, and the modulus varied from 3.78 to 6.75 GPa at a load of 0.127 mN. The hardness and modulus increased with increasing PDA content, whereas the penetration depth and plastic deformation decreased. As the load increased, the penetration depth increased. The hardness of PMDA-ODA films remained constant, whereas that of PMDA-PDA and PMDA-ODA/PDA films decreased with increasing load. The in-plane refractive index varied from 1.7219 to 1.8244, and the out-of-plane refractive index varied from 1.6390 to 1.5827, as a function of the PDA content. The birefringence varied with the PDA content from 0.0829 to 0.2417. The morphological structure of the prepared polyimide thin films was investigated with wide-angle X-ray diffraction. The mechanical properties and optical properties of the polyimide thin films were strongly dependent on the changes in the morphological structure, which originated from the variation of the composition. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 2202–2214, 2004     

Pressure‐Induced Bond Rearrangement and Reversible Phase Transformation in a Metal–Organic Framework

Pressure‐induced phase transformations (PIPTs) occur in a wide range of materials. In general, the bonding characteristics, before and after the PIPT, remain invariant in most materials, and the bond rearrangement is usually irreversible due to the strain induced under pressure. A reversible PIPT associated with a substantial bond rearrangement has been found in a metal–organic framework material, namely [tmenH₂][Er(HCOO)₄]₂ (tmenH₂²⁺=N,N,N′,N′‐tetramethylethylenediammonium). The transition is first‐order and is accompanied by a unit cell volume change of about 10 %. High‐pressure single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction studies reveal the complex bond rearrangement through the transition. The reversible nature of the transition is confirmed by means of independent nanoindentation measurements on single crystals.     

纳米颗粒增强镍基MEMS器件材料的蠕变性能研究

利用同步辐射LIGA微铸复合工艺,将纳米氧化物增强颗粒复合到微电子机械系统(MEMS)结构材料中。制作了专用夹具,采用微力材料试验机测量了纳米Al2O3颗粒增强镍基复合材料的强度为1GPa;将恒加载速率/载荷法和恒载荷法相结合,利用纳米压痕仪测量了该材料的室温蠕变速率敏感指数m。结果表明,LIGA复合技术得到的纳米颗粒增强镍基复合材料具有较高的强度;MEMS器件材料在室温下会发生蠕变;材料在相同压深下最大载荷不随加载速率而改变,加载段粘弹性和粘塑性变形极少;主要由局部高应力导致压痕蠕变;材料的蠕变速率敏感指数m值为0.004,说明纳米Al2O3颗粒可有效增强基体材料的抗蠕变能力;且不同恒.P/P下获得的m值基本相同,表示此种材料对加载速率不敏感。     

Evidence of reduction in spin disorder by Ho3+ doping in La0.7Ca0.3MnO

We have shown in a recent study that substitution of Ho³⁺ ions (4f¹⁰; magnetic momen _μB) in La_0.7Ca_0.3MnO₃ causes significant reduction in electrical resistivity compared with Y³⁺ (4d⁰; non-magnetic) ion substitution. This reduction in resistivity was attributed to the reduced spin disorder scattering in La_0.7Ca_0.3MnO₃ samples containing magnetic Ho³⁺. We have estimated the Mn-spin canting angles in Ho³⁺ - and Y³⁺-doped La_0.7Ca_0.3MnO₃ compounds from the resistivity data using the magnetic localization model. We find that the canting angles of the Mn spins in the Ho³⁺ doped compounds are smaller than those obtained for the Y³⁺-doped compounds for all compositions and at all applied magnetic fields, showing clearly a reduction in the spin disorder in the former. The difference between the T _C values for Ho³⁺ - and Y³⁺-doped compounds for all compositions may be attributed to the presence of an internal field due to Ho³⁺ doping. This internal field may be responsible for the decrease in spin disorder in the Ho³⁺-doped compounds. The increase in the canting angles with increase in Ho³⁺ and Y³⁺ content could be attributed to the decrease in the strength of the ferromagnetic exchange interactions. A strong ferromagnetic coupling (as discussed recently by the present authors and co-workers) of Ho³⁺ moments with the Mn moments is responsible for the observed behaviour.     

Elastic stress field beneath an arbitrary axisymmetric punch

The nanoindentation test is commonly used for the local determination of mechanical properties (hardness, elastic modulus, etc.) and also to study the initial stages of plasticity (dislocation nucleation, dislocation interaction mechanisms) at the nanometre scale. In the latter case, the determination of the elastic stress field beneath the indenter is of primary interest. An analytical expression is derived for the elastic stress and strain fields beneath an axisymmetric punch. Most solutions, in the literature, are given for simple indenter shapes, such as flat, conical or spherical indenters. The complete solution proposed for an arbitrary indenter profile is described by a power law, in which the exponent can be an integer or not. The stress is given as the real part of complex analytical expressions.     

A transmission electron microscopy study of the deformation behavior underneath nanoindents in nanoscale Al–TiN multilayered composites

Nanoscale multilayered Al–TiN composites were deposited using the dc magnetron sputtering technique in two different layer thickness ratios, Al : TiN = 1 : 1 and Al : TiN = 9 : 1. The Al layer thickness varied from 2 nm to 450 nm. The hardness of the samples was tested by nanoindentation using a Berkovich tip. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was carried out on samples extracted with focused ion beam from below the nanoindents. The results of the hardness tests on the Al–TiN multilayers with two different thickness ratios are presented, together with observations from the cross-sectional TEM studies of the regions underneath the indents. These studies revealed remarkable strength in the multilayers, as well as some very interesting deformation behavior in the TiN layers at extremely small length scales, where the hard TiN layers undergo co-deformation with the Al layers.