Nanogauges gratings for strain determination at nanoscale

The comprehension of deformation mechanisms and polycrystalline alloy properties is of great importance in materials science. One major challenge remains the measurements of the mechanical field components at the nanoscale. For the past twenty years, the development of nanotechnologies had a great impact on various scientific domains. Here we propose to take advantage of nanotechnologies in order to perform major breakthroughs in material strain determination. Indeed, in this study we investigate the use of metallic nanoparticles gratings to map local strains at the surface of materials. Nanoparticles can play the role of nanogauges, giving access to surface strains at the nanoscale by tracking their displacements during tensile tests performed under Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). This original method is particularly helpful to map surface strains but also to evidence local heterogeneities as well to provide a direct comparison between local and macroscopic mechanical fields evolution. Therefore, this approach should be considered as an alternative technique both for academic and industrial researchers.