Study of the Anisotropic Elastoplastic Properties of [beta]- [Ga.sub.2][O.sub.3] Films Synthesized on SiC/Si Substrates

The structural and mechanical properties of gallium oxide films grown on silicon crystallographic planes (001), (011), and (111) with a buffer layer of silicon carbide are investigated. Nanoindentation was used to study the elastoplastic properties of gallium oxide and also to determine the elastic recovery parameter of the films under study. The tensile strength, hardness, elasticity tensor, compliance tensor, Young's modulus, Poisson's ratio, and other characteristics of gallium oxide were calculated using quantum chemistry methods. It was found that the gallium oxide crystal is auxetic because, for some stretching directions, the Poisson's ratio takes on negative values. The calculated values correspond quantitatively to the experimental data. It is concluded that the elastoplastic properties of gallium oxide films approximately correspond to the properties of bulk crystals and that a change in the orientation of the silicon surface leads to a significant change in the orientation of gallium oxide.