Revealing the Mechanical Properties of Metal Pillars Using Experimental Methods and Molecular Dynamic Simulations
| dc.contributor.author | Gu, Junhua | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2015-07-28T18:38:07Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2015-07-28T18:38:07Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2015-07-28 | |
| dc.date.submitted | 2015 | |
| dc.description.abstract | The mechanical properties of nano-crystalline copper pillars were investigated by both experimental methods and Molecular Dynamic Simulations in this study. Electron beam lithography and electroplating were used to fabricate the nano-crystalline copper pillars with various cross-sectional geometries, namely solid core, hollow, c-shaped, and x-shaped. These as-fabricated copper pillars possess three different average grain sizes, which were achieved by changing the compositions of the plating solution. Uniaxial micro-compression tests were applied to deform these nano-crystalline columnar structures. Classical Hall-Petch relationship was observed between the large-grain specimens and medium-grain specimens. An inversed Hall-Petch relationship emerged as the grain size continued to go down to the small grain size region. The mechanical behavior exhibited no signs of sensitivity to the cross-sectional geometries. To understand the deformation mechanisms, Molecular Dynamic Simulations were performed on nano- crystalline copper pillars with different dimensions. The as-constructed models displayed different mechanical behaviors under compressive and tensile deformation. This so-called compression-tension asymmetry was believed to be associated with free surface alongside the nano-crystalline pillars, where the free surface energy made opposite contributions under compression and tension. An inversed Hall-Petch trend was also observed between the nano-crystalline copper columnar structure with the grain size of 13 and 6 nm. | en |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10012/9489 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en |
| dc.pending | false | |
| dc.publisher | University of Waterloo | |
| dc.subject | Nanomechanics | en |
| dc.subject | Nanocrystalline | en |
| dc.subject | Nanoindentation | en |
| dc.subject | Electroplating | en |
| dc.subject | Molecular Dynamic Simulation | en |
| dc.subject.program | Chemical Engineering (Nanotechnology) | en |
| dc.title | Revealing the Mechanical Properties of Metal Pillars Using Experimental Methods and Molecular Dynamic Simulations | en |
| dc.type | Master Thesis | en |
| uws-etd.degree | Master of Applied Science | en |
| uws-etd.degree.department | Chemical Engineering | en |
| uws.peerReviewStatus | Unreviewed | en |
| uws.scholarLevel | Graduate | en |
| uws.typeOfResource | Text | en |