Mechanism of crack evolution in nano-indentation of single crystal silicon by atomistic simulations and theoretical analysis

Abstract

The molecular dynamics (MD) model of nano-indentation process was established to study the crack evolution in single crystal during nano-indentation. Two workpieces with different cracks and one workpiece with no crack were selected for indentation simulation in this study. The parameters of atom displacement, coordination number (CN), temperature, potential energy and loading force in the indentation process are analyzed in detail. Cracks were found to close during nano-indentation. Two modes of crack closure are observed: cooperative displacement and indentation failure. The existence of cracks will affect the size of transformation zone and the coordination number of atoms after indentation. Besides, the existence of cracks will reduce the increase of temperature and potential energy, and the closing mode of cracks is found to affect the value of indentation load. In addition, the change of stress with indentation depth at crack tip is calculated by theoretical model. The calculated stress curves reveal the evolution trend of cracks during indentation. These results provide guidance for the production of silicon wafer with higher surface quality.