The formation of carbon nanostructures by in situ TEM mechanical nanoscale fatigue and fracture of carbon thin films

Wang, JJ and Lockwood, AJ and Peng, Y and Xu, X and Bobji, MS and Inkson, BJ (2009) The formation of carbon nanostructures by in situ TEM mechanical nanoscale fatigue and fracture of carbon thin films. In: Nanotechnology, 20 (30). p. 305703.

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Abstract

A technique to quantify in real time the microstructural changes occurring during mechanical nanoscale fatigue of ultrathin surface coatings has been developed. Cyclic nanoscale loading, with amplitudes less than 100 nm, is achieved with a mechanical probe miniaturized to fit inside a transmission electron microscope (TEM). The TEM tribological probe can be used for nanofriction and nanofatigue testing, with 3D control of the loading direction and simultaneous TEM imaging of the nano-objects. It is demonstrated that fracture of 10-20 nm thick amorphous carbon films on sharp gold asperities, by a single nanoscale shear impact, results in the formation of < 10 nm diameter amorphous carbon filaments. Failure of the same carbon films after cyclic nanofatigue, however, results in the formation of carbon nanostructures with a significant degree of graphitic ordering, including a carbon onion.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Nanotechnology
Publisher:	Institute of Physics
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article belongs to Institute of Physics.
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Mechanical Engineering
Date Deposited:	11 Aug 2009 09:18
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2010 05:39
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/21835

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