Thermal nanoindentation of (3C) silicon carbide 3C-SiC using molecular dynamics simulation

Abstract

Using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we investigated the effect of temperature on the nanoscale deformation behavior and mechanical properties of single-crystal (3C) silicon carbide (3C-SiC) (010) plane under nanoindentation. The simulation results showed that the atomic displacement and stress increased with increasing temperature. Thus, the nucleation and propagation of dislocations in the main slip systems were promoted to intensify the plastic deformation of the 3C-SiC crystal. The formation and propagation of prismatic loops was discussed. It was found that the hardness and Young's modulus decreased with increasing temperature. The increasing temperature also contributed to the enhancement of the local phase transition from zinc blende (B3) crystal structure to wurtzite (B4) crystal structure and very obvious amorphization in the indentation region. This work can enrich the atomic-level understanding of the effect of temperature on the mechanical response of monocrystalline 3C-SiC when subjected to external loads.