Abstract
Abstract Dislocations in functional oxides have sparked interest in the potential they hold for harvesting both enhanced mechanical and functional properties for next-generation electronic devices. This has motivated the recent research endeavor to achieve tunable dislocation density and plastic zone size in functional oxides. However, the dislocation density-dependent micro-/nanomechanical properties in functional ceramics have yet to be assessed, which will be critical for the design of reliable electronic devices in the near future. In this work, we use a model material, single-crystal SrTiO3, as one of the most widely used substrates for oxide electronics, to assess the hardness and fracture behavior at micro-/nanoscale by pre-engineering the dislocation densities from ~ 1010 m-2 up to ~ 4.0 × 1014 m-2. We find crack suppression and enhanced hardness during nanoindentation in samples with pre-engineered dislocations. Post-indentation analysis using transmission electron microscopy revealed the critical role of pre-existing dislocations in regulating the crack suppression and increased hardness in SrTiO3. The results can help guide the design of mechanically reliable electronics via dislocation engineering.
Published Version
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