Energy equilibrium of cleavage front transmission across a high-angle grain boundary in a free-standing silicon thin film

In this article, the crack growth driving force and the resistance to cleavage cracking associated with crack front transmission across a high-angle grain boundary in a silicon thin film are analyzed, and a closed-form solution of grain boundary toughness is obtained. It is noticed that the fracture resistance of the grain boundary is a function of the film thickness. This size effect is attributed to the nonuniform nature of cleavage front advance.