Multi-cycling nanoindentation in MgO single crystals before and after ion irradiation

The paper presents a nanoindentation study of MgO single crystals before and after ion irradiation up to a fluence of 1020 Ar+ m-2. It is confirmed that crystalline MgO is a brittle material of comparatively high nanohardness, ranging from H = 12.5 to 14.5 GPa depending on surface orientation. The plastic deformation is based on a dislocation glide with formation of slip bands giving rise to piling up around the indent which is strongly related to the sample crystallography. Repeated loading-unloading cycles (multi-cycling) revealed the appearance of hysteresis loops that are related to nanofracturing. Irradiation with 100 keV Ar+ ions resulted in a reproducible hardness increase to a value of H = 19 GPa independent of surface orientation. The indentation modulus E = 285 GPa remained unaffected by ion irradiation. Furthermore, no hysteresis loop in the force-displacement curve was formed with multi-cycling after implantation. This is explained in terms of point defect assisted plasticity: defect pinning will decrease the dislocation mobility and hence increase the hardness and also cause the sample to become less brittle resulting in a large decrease in nanocrack formations. In contrast to the dislocation glide, the point defect contribution to plastic deformation is almost orientation independent. This picture is supported by the orientation independent hardness as well as by the observation that ion irradiated samples exhibit a reduction in, and more homogeneously distributed, piling up around the indent.