ﻻ يوجد ملخص باللغة العربية
The precise measurement of mechanical stress at the nanoscale is of fundamental and technological importance. In principle, all six independent variables of the stress tensor, which describe the direction and magnitude of compression/tension and shear stress in a solid, can be exploited to tune or enhance the properties of materials and devices. However, existing techniques to probe the local stress are generally incapable of measuring the entire stress tensor. Here, we make use of an ensemble of atomic-sized in-situ strain sensors in diamond (nitrogen-vacancy defects) to achieve spatial mapping of the full stress tensor, with a sub-micrometer spatial resolution and a sensitivity of the order of 1 MPa (corresponding to a strain of less than $10^{-6}$). To illustrate the effectiveness and versatility of the technique, we apply it to a broad range of experimental situations, including mapping the elastic stress induced by localized implantation damage, nano-indents and scratches. In addition, we observe surprisingly large stress contributions from functional electronic devices fabricated on the diamond, and also demonstrate sensitivity to deformations of materials in contact with the diamond. Our technique could enable in-situ measurements of the mechanical response of diamond nanostructures under various stimuli, with potential applications in strain engineering for diamond-based quantum technologies and in nanomechanical sensing for on-chip mass spectroscopy.
Stress and strain are important factors in determining the mechanical, electronic, and optical properties of materials, relating to each other by the materials elasticity or stiffness. Both are represented by second rank field tensors with, in genera
Strain engineering allows the physical properties of materials and devices to be widely tailored, as paradigmatically demonstrated by strained transistors and semiconductor lasers employed in consumer electronics. For this reason, its potential impac
Crystal surfaces are sensitive to the surrounding environment, where atoms left with broken bonds reconstruct to minimize surface energy. In many cases, the surface can exhibit chemical properties unique from the bulk. These differences are important
Band bending is a central concept in solid-state physics that arises from local variations in charge distribution especially near semiconductor interfaces and surfaces. Its precision measurement is vital in a variety of contexts from the optimisation
The atomic theory of elasticity of amorphous solids, based on the nonaffine response formalism, is extended into the nonlinear stress-strain regime by coupling with the underlying irreversible many-body dynamics. The latter is implemented in compact