In situmicro-Raman compression: characterization of plasticity and fracture in GaAs

In situ Raman micro-pillar compression has been shown to be capable of determining the onset of plastic deformation as well as characterizing plastic deformation and fracture. The compression experiments were carried out on 10 µm diameter single crystalline GaAs micro-pillars at room temperature. The deformation and fracture events were revealed by a shift in position and broadening of the characteristic Raman peak in agreement with the load drops measured by the load cell and post-mortem observations from scanning electron microscopy.