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Development of a Nanoindenter for In Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2002

Eric A. Stach*
Affiliation:
National Center for Electron Microscopy, Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720
Tony Freeman
Affiliation:
Engineering Department, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720
Andrew M. Minor
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720
Doug K. Owen
Affiliation:
National Center for Electron Microscopy, Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720
John Cumings
Affiliation:
Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 Department of Physics, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720
Mark A. Wall
Affiliation:
Chemical and Materials Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550
Tomas Chraska
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903
Robert Hull
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903
J.W. Morris Jr.
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720
A. Zettl
Affiliation:
Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 Department of Physics, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720
Ulrich Dahmen
Affiliation:
National Center for Electron Microscopy, Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720
*
*Corresponding author
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Abstract

In situ transmission electron microscopy is an established experimental technique that permits direct observation of the dynamics and mechanisms of dislocation motion and deformation behavior. In this article, we detail the development of a novel specimen goniometer that allows real-time observations of the mechanical response of materials to indentation loads. The technology of the scanning tunneling microscope is adopted to allow nanometer-scale positioning of a sharp, conductive diamond tip onto the edge of an electron-transparent sample. This allows application of loads to nanometer-scale material volumes coupled with simultaneous imaging of the material’s response. The emphasis in this report is qualitative and technique oriented, with particular attention given to sample geometry and other technical requirements. Examples of the deformation of aluminum and titanium carbide as well as the fracture of silicon will be presented.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 2001

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