Molecular dynamics simulation of VN thin films under indentation

Abstract

We investigated with molecular dynamics simulation the mechanical responses of VN (001) thin films subjected to indentation with a diamond columnar indenter. We calculated the generalized stacking-fault energies as a function of the displacement in the 110 directions on the {001}, {110}, and {111} planes, and analyzed systematically the microstructures and their evolution during the indentation with the centro-symmetry parameters and the slices of the VN films. We found the slips on {110}110 of the VN film under indentation at the initial stage. With the increase of indentation depth, slips are also activated on {111}110 and {100}011 systems. We further found that the slip system is determined by the stacking-fault energy rather than the layer spacing. The indentations with other different parameters were also performed, and the results further prove the validity of the conclusion.