Low Speed Crack Propagation via Kink Formation and Advance on the Silicon (110) Cleavage Plane

We present density functional theory based atomistic calculations predicting that slow fracturing of silicon is possible at any chosen crack propagation speed under suitable temperature and load conditions. We also present experiments demonstrating fracture propagation on the Si(110) cleavage plane...

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Published inPhysical review letters Vol. 115; no. 13; p. 135501
Main Authors Kermode, James R, Gleizer, Anna, Kovel, Guy, Pastewka, Lars, Csányi, Gábor, Sherman, Dov, De Vita, Alessandro
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 23.09.2015
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Summary:We present density functional theory based atomistic calculations predicting that slow fracturing of silicon is possible at any chosen crack propagation speed under suitable temperature and load conditions. We also present experiments demonstrating fracture propagation on the Si(110) cleavage plane in the ~100 m/s speed range, consistent with our predictions. These results suggest that many other brittle crystals could be broken arbitrarily slowly in controlled experiments.
ISSN:1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/physrevlett.115.135501