Berlin 2008 – scientific programme

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MM: Fachverband Metall- und Materialphysik

MM 11: Nanostructured Materials III

MM 11.1: Talk

Monday, February 25, 2008, 14:45–15:00, H 0107

Deformation of Metals at Small Length Scales — •Cynthia Volkert — Institut für Materialphysik, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen

"Smaller is stronger", at least for most metals. When either the sample size or grain size of a metal is decreased below one micrometer, the underlying mechanisms for deformation are changed and almost all mechanical properties - strength in particular - are influenced. Without these effects, many technologies such as microelectronic devices or hard disks would not work. In this presentation, an overview will be given of the observations, proposed mechanisms, and open questions for size effects in metal deformation. In particular, new results from uni-axial compression tests on focused ion beam machined, sub-micron columns confirm the "smaller is stronger" trend, but also challenge the existing models. The models will be critically compared and an outlook of what can be achieved by tailoring length scales in various materials will be presented.