Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 February 2011
It is pointed out that some of the generic physical properties of a nanocrystalline material are similar to those of a grain-boundary superlattice. The structure and elastic properties of a superlattice of twist boundaries on the (110) plane of silicon are calculated as a function of modulation wavelength using a three-body potential. All elastic moduli are found to be softened. This softening is attributed to the relatively small amount of structural disorder at the interfaces.