Cutting, compression and shear of silicon small single crystals

• Published in: Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section B, Beam interactions with materials and atoms Beam interactions with materials and atoms, 1999-06, Vol.153 (1), p.147-152
• Main Authors: Doyama, Masao, Nozaki, Tadatoshi, Kogure, Yoshiaki
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0168-583X; 1872-9584
• DOI: 10.1016/S0168-583X(99)00196-2

This paper describes the results of high speed deformations of pure silicon small crystals using molecular dynamics. The paper suggests that plastic deformation may be possible for silicon with a high speed deformation at room temperature. The potential used was the three body Stillinger–Weber potential. The size of the crystal is 6( x) × 16( y) × 2( z) [nm], with x, y and z axes being taken in the [1̄ 1 0], [1̄ 1̄ 2] and [1 1 1] directions, respectively. (1 1 1) is the cutting plane and a slip plane. [1̄ 1 0] is the cutting direction. A sharp vertical solid edge was advanced in the x direction with a speed of 10 m/s. Surfaces are free and no periodic boundary conditions were used. The time step interval was taken to be 1 × 10 −16 s. In another numerical experiment, the same crystal was compressed in the [1̄ 1̄ 1̄] direction also using molecular dynamics. It was found that silicon crystals can be compressed with a high speed deformation, and suggests that silicon may be plastically deformed under such conditions.