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Microscale shear specimens for evaluating the shear deformation in single-crystal and nanocrystalline Cu and at Cu–Si interfaces

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  • Plasticity and Fracture at the Nanoscales
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Abstract

Microscale testing has enjoyed significant developments, with the majority of testing focused on tensile/compression type tests and little focus on shear testing. With the recent advances in macroscale shear testing, we developed a novel shear structure for evaluating shear properties of bulk materials and films at the microscale. The shear response in single-crystal copper oriented along the [111] direction was found to have a yield strength of ∼180 MPa. Nanocrystalline copper specimens with different orientations showed sensitivity to the film texture with a shear yield strength nearly three times that of single-crystal copper. Shear specimens were fabricated with Cu film–Si substrate interface near the middle of the shear region and compressed to fracture. The shear response showed a mixed behavior of the stiff Si substrate and softer nanocrystalline film and failed in a brittle manner, indicating a response unique to the interface.

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Acknowledgments

J.G.G, S.M., and N.L. acknowledge the support of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy Fuel Cycle Research and Development Program, and the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)/Laboratory Directed Research & Development (LDRD) Program. This work was performed, in part, at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, an Office of Science User Facility operated for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science. Los Alamos National Laboratory, an affirmative action equal opportunity employer, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, for the National Nuclear Security Administration of the U.S. DOE under contract DE-AC52-06NA25396.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Integrated Technologies, MPA-CINT, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, 87545, USA

    Jonathan G. Gigax, Jon K. Baldwin, Chris J. Sheehan & Nan Li

  2. MST-8, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, 87545, USA

    Stuart A. Maloy

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  1. Jonathan G. Gigax
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Correspondence to Jonathan G. Gigax.

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Gigax, J.G., Baldwin, J.K., Sheehan, C.J. et al. Microscale shear specimens for evaluating the shear deformation in single-crystal and nanocrystalline Cu and at Cu–Si interfaces. Journal of Materials Research 34, 1574–1583 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2019.104

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