Phase transformation as the single-mode mechanical deformation of silicon

The metastable body-centered cubic (bc8) and rhombohedral (r8) phases of silicon that are formed after the nanoindentation of diamond cubic silicon exhibit properties that are of both scientific and technological interest. This letter demonstrates that large regions of these phases can be readily formed from crystalline silicon via nanoindentation with minimal damage to the surrounding crystal. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy is used to show that volumes of these phases 6 μm wide and up to 650 nm deep can be generated using a symmetrical spherical tip of ∼21.5 μm diameter. This result indicates that the use of large symmetrical spherical tips result in highly hydrostatic conditions that can favor the single phase transformation mode without extensive damage to the surrounding crystalline regions that are observed in previous studies.