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. 2022 Jul 30;55(Pt 4):911-918.
doi: 10.1107/S1600576722006537. eCollection 2022 Aug 1.

Brittle fracture studied by ultra-high-speed synchrotron X-ray diffraction imaging

Antoine Petit  1 , Sylvia Pokam  1 , Frederic Mazen  1 , Samuel Tardif  2 , Didier Landru  3 , Oleg Kononchuk  3 , Nadia Ben Mohamed  3 , Margie P Olbinado  4 , Alexander Rack  4 , Francois Rieutord  2
Affiliations

Brittle fracture studied by ultra-high-speed synchrotron X-ray diffraction imaging

Antoine Petit et al. J Appl Crystallogr. .

Abstract

In situ investigations of cracks propagating at up to 2.5 km s-1 along an (001) plane of a silicon single crystal are reported, using X-ray diffraction megahertz imaging with intense and time-structured synchrotron radiation. The studied system is based on the Smart Cut process, where a buried layer in a material (typically Si) is weakened by microcracks and then used to drive a macroscopic crack (10-1 m) in a plane parallel to the surface with minimal deviation (10-9 m). A direct confirmation that the shape of the crack front is not affected by the distribution of the microcracks is provided. Instantaneous crack velocities over the centimetre-wide field of view were measured and showed an effect of local heating by the X-ray beam. The post-crack movements of the separated wafer parts could also be observed and explained using pneumatics and elasticity. A comprehensive view of controlled fracture propagation in a crystalline material is provided, paving the way for the in situ measurement of ultra-fast strain field propagation.

Keywords: X-ray diffraction; crack-front shape; ion implantation.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Top view of the imaging experiment setup used on beamline ID19. The ID19 pink beam illuminates the sample (bonded wafers) in the diffraction condition, and a high-speed camera connected to an image intensifier records the diffracted image on the scintillator. The motorized tip is used to initiate the fracture mechanically, and this is detected by the IR laser, which in turn is used to trigger the camera. The enlargement at the centre of the sample shows the propagation of the fracture through the layer of pressurized microcracks. (b) Top view (IR confocal microscopy image) of the layer of pressurized microcracks made by implantation-related defects after a few hours of annealing. (c), (d) Three-dimensional representations of the strip and wafer samples, respectively. The red dot represents the IR laser.
Figure 2
Figure 2
X-ray diffraction imaging of the crack front in (a) the silicon [110] strip, (b) the silicon [100] strip and (c) the full 300 mm silicon wafer assembly. The time t 0 indicates the entry time of the crack front in the field of view. The scale bar is 10 mm.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(Top) A single image of all the maximum intensities seen by the camera for the different strip samples and full 300 mm wafer assembly. The centre of the X-ray illuminated area is represented by a red cross and the orange line indicates the position of the line profile extracted below. (Middle) A line profile perpendicular to the crack front. Each peak is due to a single bunch. Space-wise, the exact location of each peak is obtained by a Gaussian fit and indicated by a green triangle. Time-wise, each bunch is 704 ns after the previous one. (Bottom) The evolution of crack front velocity in the X-ray illuminated area, as calculated from the peaks’ space–time positions.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Diffracted intensity for the [110] strip sample as a function of time and position along the length x (i.e. along [110]), taken at the central y position, for (top) experimental data and (bottom) simulated data considering the propagation of the gap opening profile.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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