Kozhushko V V, Lomonosov A M, Hess P
Institute of Physical Chemistry, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 253, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
Phys Rev Lett. 2007 May 11;98(19):195505. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.195505.
Measurement of the critical fracture strength of single-crystal silicon was carried out by contact-free laser-based excitation and detection of nonlinear surface acoustic wave (SAW) pulses. The three crystallographic geometries Si(112)111[over ], Si(112)1[over ]1[over ]1, and Si(110)11[over ]1 were examined. A comparison of the optically detected SAW transients and numerically calculated stress-strain fields allowed an estimate of the intrinsic mechanical strength without using an artificial precrack. Depending on the geometry, the critical strength varied between 5 and 7 GPa.
