Deformation behavior of gold nano-pillars prepared by nanoimprinting and focused ion-beam milling

The deformation behavior of single- and polycrystalline gold pillars with diameters in the 150–1000 nm range was investigated at room temperature by compression testing. The pillars were produced by nanoimprinting and focused ion-beam (FIB) milling, and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). No significant differences in the flow strength level or scaling behavior were observed when nanoimprinted pillars were compared with FIB-milled pillars with comparable diameters. These observations justify the use of FIB milling for the study of scaling behavior in this material system. Weibull statistics were used to analyze the distribution of strength levels, and a minimum in experimental scatter was identified at intermediate pillar size in comparison with their microstructural length scales.