title: Fracture strain of SiC nanowires and direct evidence of electron-beam induced amorphisation in the strained nanowires.
abstract: SiC nanowires with diameters ranging from 29 to 270 nm exhibit an average strain of 5.5% with a maximum of up to 7.0%. The brittle fracture of the nano-wires being measured was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis. This study demonstrates that amorphisation occurs in the stained SiC nanowires during normal TEM examination, which could be induced by electron irradiation.
authors.affiliation: School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia; School of Physics and Electronics, State Key Laboratory for Powder Metallurgy, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, PR China.
authors.forename: Shiliang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yueqin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Liangwu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Yuehui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Han
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huang
keywords: SiC; amorphisation; brittle fractures; electron irradiation; nanowires