Berkovich nanoindentation-induced dislocation energetics and pop-in effects in ZnSe thin films

•ZnSe films are deposited on GaAs (001) substrates using MBE.•The deformation behaviors for ZnSe films are studied by nanoindentation and TEM.•The dislocation loops in ZnSe films is estimated by classical dislocation theory.

The Berkovich nanoindentation-induced characteristic “pop-in” phenomena observed in ZnSe thin films are investigated in this study. The ZnSe thin films are grown on the GaAs(0 0 1) substrates by using the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) system. No evidence of nanoindentation-induced phase transformation was revealed in ZnSe thin film by the cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) and selected area diffraction (SAD) analyses. Furthermore, as displayed in the SAD results, the distortion of diffraction spots did indicate severe deformation of indented ZnSe thin films resulting from the nanoindentation load. Based on this scenario, an energetic estimation of dislocation nucleation is made.

Graphical abstractThe mechanical deformation behaviors of ZnSe thin film are investigated by combining Berkovich nanoindentation and the cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) techniques. No evidence of nanoindentation-induced phase transformation was revealed in ZnSe thin film by the XTEM and the selected area diffraction analyses.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide