Lattice bending, disordering, and amorphization induced plastic deformation in a SiC nanowire.

The plastic deformation features of intrinsic brittle-featured SiC nanowires by high resolution electron microscopy have been investigated. Strong plastic deformation strain fields were observed in a bent SiC nanowire. The achieved localized strain reaches about 1.5%. Localized lattice bending, atomic lattice disordering, and amorphization are contribution factors to achieve the plastic deformation. The projected Si–Si bonding angle distribution on the (110) atomic plane demonstrates the disordering features of the bent SiC nanowire. Buckling is found at the compressive side of the bent SiC nanowire. Growth bending can be achieved through {111} twinning and phase transformation from 3C to 2H. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]