Elastic-plastic transition in MBE-grown GaSb semiconducting crystal examined by noindentation

Abstract

The present paper concerns the elastic-plastic nanodeformation of Te-doped GaSb crystals grown by molecular beam epitaxy on the n-type of GaSb substrate. The conventional analysis of nanoindentation data obtained with sharp triangular (Berkovich) and spherical tip revealed the elastic modulus (E = 83:07 1:78 GPa), hardness (H = 5:19 0:25 GPa) and “true hardness” (HT = 5:73 0:04 GPa). The registered pop-in event which indicates the elastic–plastic transition in GaSb crystal points towards the corresponding yield strength ( Y = 3:8 0:1 GPa). The origin of incipient plasticity in GaSb crystal is discussed in terms of elastic-plastic deformation energy concept.