http://imechanica.org/node/2502 Comments for "Nanoindentation of the a and c domains in a tetragonal BaTiO3 single crystal" en http://imechanica.org/node/2502 <p>Can we map the eastic modulus of a and c domians? Can we mechanically switch the domains and let them function as nanoactuators and sensors? In our recent <a href="http://scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet?prog=normal&amp;id=JAPIAU000102000008083507000001&amp;idtype=cvips&amp;gifs=yes" target="_blank">paper</a> in Journal of Applied Physics, 102, 083507, we report nanoindentation of the a and c domains in a tetragonal BaTiO3 single crystal. Nanoindentation in conjunction with piezoresponse force microscopy was used to study domain switching and to measure the mechanical properties of individual ferroelectric domains in a tetragonal BaTiO3 single crystal. It was found that nanoindentation has induced local domain switching; the a and c domains of BaTiO3 have different elastic moduli but similar hardness. Nanoindentation modulus mapping on the a and c domains further confirmed such difference in elasticity. Finite element modeling was used to simulate the von Mises stress and plastic strain profiles of the indentations on both a and c domains, which introduces a much higher stress level than the critical value for domain nucleation.</p> <br class="clear" /> http://imechanica.org/node/2502#comments research elastic modulus nanoindentation nanomechanics phase transformation Fri, 28 Dec 2007 15:18:21 -0500 Xiaodong Li 2502 at http://imechanica.org