M. Jain; R. Ramachandramoorthy; M. Kiss; N. Quack; L. Pethö; H. Chen; P. Cao; G. Dehm; J. Michler
Materials & Design 255 (2025) 114194
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 (MD) 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-plastic transition in diamond behavior,
occurring at approximately 550 ◦C. The fracture stress exhibited by these pristine nanopillars exceeds the
strength reported previously in literature for < 100 > oriented diamond. Complementary MD simulations pro
vide a deeper understanding of the underlying deformation mechanisms involved in brittle-to-plastic 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 dia
mond based micro- and nano- electromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS) and micro/nanomechanics.