Plasticity in ZrB2 micropillars induced by anomalous slip activation

Room temperature deformation behaviors of ZrB 2 micropillars, fabricated by focused ion beam technique from differently oriented grains of polycrystalline ZrB 2 , were investigated under micro compression. Considerable anisotropy was found showing ∼80% higher yield ( σ Y ) and rupture ( σ r ) stress values for the basal oriented pillars ( σ Y , basal =13.4 GPa , σ r , basal = 13.4 GPa ) compared to the prismatic pillars ( σ Y , prism = 6.4 GPa , σ r , prism = 7.6 GPa ) . Micro-scale plasticity was detected in prismatic oriented pillars, revealing the activation of the { 10 1 ¯ 0 } 〈 11 2 ¯ 3 〉 type slip system both in the form of single- and multiple-slip which is anomalous for ZrB 2 and has not been reported so far in the relevant literature.