Nanocrystalline copper films are never flat
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
We used scanning tunneling microscopy to study low-angle grain boundaries at the surface of nearly planar copper nanocrystalline (111) films. The presence of grain boundaries and their emergence at the film surface create valleys composed of dissociated edge dislocations and ridges where partial dislocations have recombined. Geometric analysis and simulations indicated that valleys and ridges were created by an out-of-plane grain rotation driven by reduction of grain boundary energy. These results suggest that in general, it is impossible to form flat two-dimensional nanocrystalline films of copper and other metals exhibiting small stacking fault energies and/or large elastic anisotropy, which induce a large anisotropy in the dislocation-line energy.
Date Issued
2017-07-28
Date Acceptance
2017-06-21
Citation
Science, 2017, 357 (6349), pp.397-400
ISSN
1095-9203
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Start Page
397
End Page
400
Journal / Book Title
Science
Volume
357
Issue
6349
Copyright Statement
© 2017 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works http://www.sciencemag.org/about/science-licenses-journal-article-reuse
Subjects
MD Multidisciplinary
General Science & Technology
Publication Status
Published