AVS 53rd International Symposium
    Nanometer-scale Science and Technology Wednesday Sessions
       Session NS+SS+TF-WeM

Paper NS+SS+TF-WeM13
In Situ Quantitative TEM Nanoindentation of Individual Nanoparticles and Nanoscale Materials

Wednesday, November 15, 2006, 12:00 pm, Room 2016

Session: Nanotribology and Nanomechanics
Presenter: Z. Shan, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Authors: Z. Shan, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
A.M. Minor, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
S.A. Syed Asif, Hysitron Inc.
O.L. Warren, Hysitron Inc.
Correspondent: Click to Email
Monitoring the microstructure evolution while simultaneously measuring the stress and strain information at the nanometer level has been a long standing goal for material scientists. Here we show that by incorporating a miniature capacitive transducer into a TEM holder the load-displacement response (force resolution better than 0.5 µN and displacement resolution better than 1 nm) can be achieved inside a TEM during the in situ nanoindentation process. A wide range of materials have been examined using this technique, such as Al thin films, single crystal Ni and Cu, Au and Cd metallic nanoparticles, and hollow shell-structured nanoparticles. The preliminary results will be reported and the physical insight derived from these results will be discussed. In particular, our results demonstrate unique insight into the initial deformation processes during the nanoindentation of metals and the analysis of elastic moduli and plasticity in nanoparticles.