Micromechanical and in situ shear testing of Al–SiC nanolaminate composites in a transmission electron microscope (TEM)

Nanolaminate composites show promise as high strength and toughness materials. However, due to the limited volume of these materials, micron scale mechanical testing methods must be used to determine the properties of these films. To this end, a novel approach combining a double notch shear testing geometry and compression with a flat punch in a nanoindenter was developed to determine the mechanical properties of these films under shear loading. To further elucidate the failure mechanisms under shear loading, in situ TEM experiments were performed using a double notch geometry cut into the TEM foil. Aluminum layer thicknesses of 50 nm and 100 nm were used to show the effect of constraint on the deformation. Higher shear strength was observed in the 50 nm sample (690±54 MPa) compared to the 100 nm sample (423±28.7 MPa). Additionally, failure occurred close to the Al–SiC interface in the 50 nm sample as opposed to failure within the Al layer in the 100 nm sample.