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On the Application of Xe+ Plasma FIB for Micro-fabrication of Small-scale Tensile Specimens

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Abstract

In order to perform site-specific mechanical studies to examine the contribution or interaction of a material constituent, a reliable methodology for the production of small-scale samples is required. With the high milling rates achievable with the newly developed Xe+ plasma FIB (PFIB), it is now possible to manufacture specimens approaching the smallest representative volume (SRV). In this study, a methodology has been developed that allows for the manufacture of mesoscale specimens approaching SRV to be tested in tension. It is demonstrated that yield and tensile strength measured in specimens of this scale are representative of bulk behaviour, of the properties measured the strain hardening exponent was found to be dependent on scale.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the EPSRC for funding through EP/J021172/1 and also acknowledge the assistance provided by the Manchester X-ray Imaging Facility, which was funded in part by the EPSRC (grants EP/F007906/1, EP/F001452/1 and EP/I02249X/1). This work was supported by the Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials, funded through EPSRC grants EP/R00661X/1, EP/S019367/1, EP/P025021/1 and EP/P025498/1. E. Bousser would like to acknowledge the support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada through the Postdoctoral Fellowship program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

    A.D. Smith, J. Donoghue, A. Garner, B. Winiarski, E. Bousser, J. Carr, J. Behnsen & T.L. Burnett

  2. Thermo Fisher Scientific, FEI, Brno-Cernovice, Czech Republic

    B. Winiarski

  3. Polytechnique Montréal, University of Montreal, Montréal, QC, Canada

    E. Bousser

  4. Micro Testing Solutions LLC, Hilliard, OH, USA

    R. Wheeler

  5. Rolls-Royce plc, Derby, UK

    K. Wilford

  6. Henry Royce Institute, School of Materials, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

    P.J. Withers & M. Preuss

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  1. A.D. Smith
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Smith, A., Donoghue, J., Garner, A. et al. On the Application of Xe+ Plasma FIB for Micro-fabrication of Small-scale Tensile Specimens. Exp Mech 59, 1113–1125 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11340-019-00528-w

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