Transmission Electron Microscopy Observation of Deformation Microstructure under Spherical Indentation in Silicon

Spherical indentation of crystalline silicon has been studied using cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM). Indentation loads were chosen below and above the yield point for silicon to investigate the modes of plastic deformation. Slip planes are visible in the XTEM micrographs in both indentation loads studied. A thin layer of polycrystalline material has been identified (indexed as Si-XII from diffraction patterns) on the low-load indentation. The higher-load indentation revealed a large region of amorphous silicon. The sequence of structural deformation by indentation in silicon has been observed with the initial deformation mechanism being slip until phase transformations can take place