Slip and twinning in high-stress-deformed GaAs and the influence of doping

Mechanical responses of a-axis GaN nanowires under axial loads

Gallium nitride (GaN) nanowires (NWs) hold technological significance as functional components in emergent nano-piezotronics. However, the examination of their mechanical responses, especially the mechanistic understanding of behavior beyond elasticity (at failure) remains limited due to the constraints of in situ experimentation. We therefore performed simulations of the molecular dynamics (MD) of the mechanical behavior of [Formula: see text]-oriented GaN NWs subjected to tension or compression loading until failure. The mechanical properties and critical deformation processes are characterized in relation to NW sizes and loading conditions. Detailed examinations revealed that the failure mechanisms are size-dependent and controlled by the dislocation mobility on shuffle-set pyramidal planes. The size dependence of the elastic behavior is also examined in terms of the surface structure determined modification of Young's modulus. In addition, a comparison with c-axis NWs is made to show how size-effect trends vary with the growth orientation of NWs.

Atomic-scale configurations of synchroshear-induced deformation twins in the ionic MnS crystal

Deformation twinning was thought as impossible in ionic compounds with rock-salt structure due to the charge effect on {111} planes. Here we report the presence and formation mechanism of deformation {111} twins in the rock-salt manganese sulphide (MnS) inclusions embedded in a hot-rolled stainless steel. Based on the atomic-scale mapping under aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy, a dislocation-based mechanism involved two synchronized shear on adjacent atomic layers is proposed to describe the dislocation glide and consequently twinning formation. First-principles calculations of the energy barriers for twinning formation in MnS and comparing with that of PbS and MgO indicate the distinct dislocation glide scheme and deformation behaviors for the rock-salt compounds with different ionicities. This study may improve our understanding of the deformation mechanisms of rock-salt crystals and other ionic compounds.