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

James R. Kermode, Anna Gleizer, Guy Kovel, Lars Pastewka, Gábor Csányi, Dov Sherman, Alessandro De Vita

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

28 Scopus citations

Abstract

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 ∼100m/s speed range, consistent with our predictions. These results suggest that many other brittle crystals could be broken arbitrarily slowly in controlled experiments.

Original languageEnglish
Article number135501
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume115
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 23 Sep 2015

Funding

FundersFunder number
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research CouncilEP/L027682/1, EP/L014742/1, EP/K014560/1

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Low Speed Crack Propagation via Kink Formation and Advance on the Silicon (110) Cleavage Plane'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this