Soft and Hard Modes of Deformation in Mosi2 Single Crystals

Abstract

AbstractThe deformation behavior of MoSi2 single crystals has been studied in the temperature range of -196<1500°C. While [001]-oriented crystals can be plastically deformed only above 1300°C, plastic flow is possible from temperatures as low as room temperature for single crystals with orientations other than [001]. Five slip systems, {110)<111], {011)<100], {010)<100], {023)<100] and {013)<331], are identified to be operative, depending on crystal orientation. An anomalous increase in CRSS is observed in the intermediate temperature range for the former three slip systems. Schmid’s law is generally valid for the soft modes, {110)<111], {011)<100] and {023)<100]. In contrast, the CRSS for the hard mode, {013)<331], strongly depends on crystal orientation with the higher values for orientations closer to [001].