M. Jain; R. Ramachandramoorthy; M. Kiss; N. Quack; L. Pethö; H. Chen; P. Cao; G. Dehm; J. Michler
SSRN 5138236
Diamonds possess significant hardness and durability; however, any attempt to deform them typically leads to brittle fracture. In this study, we comprehensively characterize nanoscale diamond at elevated temperatures, using a combination of experimental and molecular dynamic simulation approaches. We present the fabrication and compression testing of single crystal diamond< 100> nanopillars fabricated by electron beam lithography and inductively coupled plasma etching to achieve, for the first time, a highly pristine diamond nanoarchitecture. Remarkably, our findings unveil a distinctive brittle-to-ductile transition in diamond behavior, occurring at approximately 550 C. The fracture stress exhibited by these pristine nanopillars exceeds the theoretical strength of diamond as predicted by Griffith’s theory. Complementary MD simulations provide a deeper understanding of the underlying deformation mechanisms involved in brittle-to-ductile transition. The insights from this study offer novel pathways for advancing both the fabrication of pristine diamond nanoarchitectures and their strain engineering, with envisioned extreme high-temperature applications in diamond based micro-and nano-electromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS) and micro/nanomechanics.