The study of grain size dependence of yield stress of copper for a wide grain size range

Nanomechanical Characterization for Cold Spray: From Feedstock to Consolidated Material Properties

Cold gas-dynamic spray is a solid-state materials consolidation technology that has experienced successful adoption within the coatings, remanufacturing and repair sectors of the advanced manufacturing community. As of late, cold spray has also emerged as a high deposition rate metal additive manufacturing method for structural and nonstructural applications. As cold spray enjoys wider recognition and adoption, the demand for versatile, high-throughput and significant methods of particulate feedstock as well consolidated materials characterization has also become more notable. In order to address the interest for such an instrument, nanoindentation is presented herein as a viable means of achieving the desired mechanical characterization abilities. In this work, conventionally static nanoindentation testing using both Berkovich and spherical indenter tips, as well as nanoindentation using the continuous stiffness measurement mode of testing, will be applied to a range of powder-based feedstocks and cold sprayed materials.

Strong and Ductile Electroplated Heterogeneous Bulk Nanostructured Nickel

Porosity-free bulk nanostructured nickel cannot be fabricated by conventional electroplating due to hydrogen bubbling at the cathode. Here, we developed a cathode-rotating electroplating technique to remove the bubbles in order to obtain millimeter-scale nanostructured nickel rods with low porosity. The grain sizes ranged from 20 to 300 nm. The range produced by the new technique was broader than those that have been reported. The heterogeneous microstructure contributed to high work hardening rate, yield strength, and ductility of the rods in tension. The ductility was larger than electroplated thin nickel film with comparable ultimate strength in the literature. Dislocations accumulated at pre-existing twins, grain boundaries, and at the grain interior mediated the plastic deformation of the rods.

A new approach to grain boundary engineering for nanocrystalline materials

A new approach to grain boundary engineering (GBE) for high performance nanocrystalline materials, especially those produced by electrodeposition and sputtering, is discussed on the basis of some important findings from recently available results on GBE for nanocrystalline materials. In order to optimize their utility, the beneficial effects of grain boundary microstructures have been seriously considered according to the almost established approach to GBE. This approach has been increasingly recognized for the development of high performance nanocrystalline materials with an extremely high density of grain boundaries and triple junctions. The effectiveness of precisely controlled grain boundary microstructures (quantitatively characterized by the grain boundary character distribution (GBCD) and grain boundary connectivity associated with triple junctions) has been revealed for recent achievements in the enhancement of grain boundary strengthening, hardness, and the control of segregation-induced intergranular brittleness and intergranular fatigue fracture in electrodeposited nickel and nickel alloys with initial submicrometer-grained structure. A new approach to GBE based on fractal analysis of grain boundary connectivity is proposed to produce high performance nanocrystalline or submicrometer-grained materials with desirable mechanical properties such as enhanced fracture resistance. Finally, the potential power of GBE is demonstrated for high performance functional materials like gold thin films through precise control of electrical resistance based on the fractal analysis of the grain boundary microstructure.

Breakdown current density in h-BN-capped quasi-1D TaSe3 metallic nanowires: prospects of interconnect applications

We report on the current-carrying capacity of the nanowires made from the quasi-1D van der Waals metal tantalum triselenide capped with quasi-2D boron nitride. The chemical vapor transport method followed by chemical and mechanical exfoliation were used to fabricate the mm-long TaSe3 wires with the lateral dimensions in the 20 to 70 nm range. Electrical measurements establish that the TaSe3/h-BN nanowire heterostructures have a breakdown current density exceeding 10 MA cm(-2)-an order-of-magnitude higher than that for copper. Some devices exhibited an intriguing step-like breakdown, which can be explained by the atomic thread bundle structure of the nanowires. The quasi-1D single crystal nature of TaSe3 results in a low surface roughness and in the absence of the grain boundaries. These features can potentially enable the downscaling of the nanowires to lateral dimensions in a few-nm range. Our results suggest that quasi-1D van der Waals metals have potential for applications in the ultimately downscaled local interconnects.

Thermal properties of graphene-copper-graphene heterogeneous films

We demonstrated experimentally that graphene-Cu-graphene heterogeneous films reveal strongly enhanced thermal conductivity as compared to the reference Cu and annealed Cu films. Chemical vapor deposition of a single atomic plane of graphene on both sides of 9 μm thick Cu films increases their thermal conductivity by up to 24% near room temperature. Interestingly, the observed improvement of thermal properties of graphene-Cu-graphene heterofilms results primarily from the changes in Cu morphology during graphene deposition rather than from graphene's action as an additional heat conducting channel. Enhancement of thermal properties of graphene-capped Cu films is important for thermal management of advanced electronic chips and proposed applications of graphene in the hybrid graphene-Cu interconnect hierarchies.

The Mechanical Properties of Electroplated Cu Thin Films Measured by means of the Bulge Test Technique

The mechanical properties of freestanding electroplated Cu films were determined by measuring the deflection of Si-framed, pressurized membranes. The films were deformed under plane-strain conditions. The pressure-deflection data are converted into stress-strain curves by means of simple analytical formulae. The microstructure of the Cu films was characterized using scanning electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction. The yield stress, Young's modulus, and residual stress were determined as a function of film thickness and microstructure. Both yield stress and Young's modulus increase with decreasing film thickness and correlate well with changes in the microstructure and texture of the films.

Atomistic Studies of Plasticity in Nanophase Metals

Molecular dynamics computer simulation of nanocrystalline Ni and Cu with mean grain sizes ranging from 5 to 20 nm show that grain boundaries in nanocrystalline metals have structures similar to most grain boundaries found in conventional polycrystalline materials. Moreover, the excess enthalpy density in grain boundaries and triple junctions appears to be independent of grain in both, computer generated and experimental measured samples. Simulations of deformation under constant uniaxial stress demonstrate a change in deformation mechanism as function of grain size: at the smallest grain sizes all deformation is accommodated in the grain boundaries, at higher grain sizes, intragrain deformation is observed

Mechanical Hardness as a Probe of Nanocrystalline Materials

The use of mechanical hardness as a probe of nanocrystalline materials is reviewed. The fact that the grain size dependence of hardness is very different for nanocrystalline materials compared to conventional (≥1 μm diameter) polycrystals suggests a different deformation mechanism may be operative in nanocrystalline materials. Hardness is useful for following the sintering, densification reactions of nanoparticles. Solid solution hardening in nanocrystalline alloys is found to be overwhelmed by the grain boundary hardening. If alloying decreases the grain boundary hardening, i.e. increases grain size, an apparent solid solution softening effect is observed.