In situ SEM/FIB Nanomechanical Testing System

共同申请人正在申请资金购买一种设计用于扫描电子或双聚焦离子/扫描电子显微镜的纳米机械测试仪器。该仪器将用于微观至纳米尺度圆柱体、悬臂梁或“薄膜”（例如，100微米厚）在显微镜内拉伸、压缩或剪切。该工具实现的关键步骤将是对较小体积的动态探测，使得内部材料结构的一个控制特征存在于测试体积中，而不是像常见测试样品中那样多。这个特征可以是缺口、单个裂纹、第二相（颗粒或沉淀物）、孪晶界或滑移带。小体积将使用申请人的可用研究方法获得，例如聚焦离子束工具和/或光刻工艺。可定制的纳米机械系统将允许皇后的研究人员以回答有关材料的问题所需的方式控制实验，而不受测试机器设计的限制。此外，在SEM或FIB/SEM中的原位操作允许对应变行为进行前所未有的连续观察。我们将与工业合作伙伴合作，探索推动实验动态应变和时间分辨率的情况，开发世界领先的新实验能力。 研究结果将深入了解材料如何变形和失效，并对从运输业到发电和存储等一系列安全关键工业应用产生影响。

The co-applicants are requesting funding to purchase a one-of-a kind nanomechanical testing instrument designed to be used in scanning electron or dual focused ion/scanning electron microscopes. The instrument will be used for mechanical behaviour studies of micro- to nanoscopic dimensioned cylinders, cantilevers or ‘thin’ films (e.g., 100 micrometer thick) in tension, compression or shear inside the microscope(s). The key step enabled by the tool will be the dynamic probing of smaller volumes, such that one controlling feature of the internal material structure is present in the tested volume, and not many, as is typical in common test samples. This feature could be a notch, a single crack, secondary phase (particle, or precipitate), a twin boundary or a slip band. The small volumes will be obtained using available research methods of the applicants such as focused ion beam tools and/or lithographic processes. The customizable nano-mechanical system will allow Queen’s researchers to control the experiments in the ways needed to answer questions about the materials, and not be limited by the design of the testing machine. Furthermore, in situ operation in a SEM or FIB/SEM allows unprecedented continuous observation of the straining behaviour. In collaboration with an industrial partner, we will explore situations that push the dynamic strain and time resolution of the experiments, developing a world-leading new experimental capability. The results will provide insight into how materials deform and fail, with impact on a host of safety-critical industrial applications, from the transport industry through to electricity generation and storage.