Investigations of Micro-Deformation in Monocrystalline Copper at Low Temperatures via Indentation.

Indentation experiments on differently oriented faces of monocrystalline copper were conducted to investigate the micro-deformation process at temperatures ranging from room temperature to 150 K. The morphologies and textures of the residual imprints were observed using electron microscopy. Distinct slip bands were observed inside the imprints at 150 K compared to smooth surfaces at room temperature. Molecular dynamics simulations were performed to identify the deformation process beneath the indentation region. The results showed that plastic deformation was inhibited with decreasing temperature, but elastic recovery during the unloading process was enhanced, resulting in inner slip bands (ISBs) being observable in the residual imprints. The performances of these ISBs were strongly associated with the angles between the indentation direction and major slip surfaces and could be considered microscopic forms on the surfaces of aggregated geometrically necessary dislocations (GNDs). This work helped reveal the micro-deformation mechanism of indentations inside imprints.

Atomic investigations on the tension-compression asymmetry of AlxFeNiCrCu (x = 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0) high-entropy alloy nanowires.

The tension and compression of high-entropy alloy (HEA) nanowires (NWs) are remarkably asymmetric, but the micro mechanism is still unclear. In this research, the tension-compression asymmetry of AlxFeNiCrCu HEA NWs (x = 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0) was quantitatively characterized via molecular dynamics simulations, focusing on the influences of the NW diameter, the Al content, the crystalline orientation, and the temperature, which are significant for applying HEAs in nanotechnology. The increased NW diameter improves the energy required for stacking faults nucleating, thus strengthening AlFeNiCrCu HEA NWs. A few twins during stretching weaken the strengthening effects, thereby decreasing the tension-compression asymmetry. The increased Al content raises the tension-compression asymmetry by promoting the face-centered cubic to body-centered cubic phase transition during stretching. The tension along the [001] crystalline orientation is stronger than the compression, while the [110] and [111] crystalline orientations are entirely the opposite, and the tension-compression asymmetry along the [111] crystalline orientation is the minimum. The diversities in the tension-compression asymmetry depend on the deformation mechanism. Compressing along the [001] crystalline orientation and stretching along the [110] crystalline orientation induces twinning. Deformation along the [111] crystalline orientation only leaves stacking faults in the NWs. Therefore, the tension and compression along the [111] crystalline orientation exhibit minimal asymmetry. As the temperature rises, the tension-compression asymmetry along the [001] and [111] crystalline orientations increases, while that along the [110] crystalline orientation decreases.

Mirror-enhanced scanning light-field microscopy for long-term high-speed 3D imaging with isotropic resolution.

Various biological behaviors can only be observed in 3D at high speed over the long term with low phototoxicity. Light-field microscopy (LFM) provides an elegant compact solution to record 3D information in a tomographic manner simultaneously, which can facilitate high photon efficiency. However, LFM still suffers from the missing-cone problem, leading to degraded axial resolution and ringing effects after deconvolution. Here, we propose a mirror-enhanced scanning LFM (MiSLFM) to achieve long-term high-speed 3D imaging at super-resolved axial resolution with a single objective, by fully exploiting the extended depth of field of LFM with a tilted mirror placed below samples. To establish the unique capabilities of MiSLFM, we performed extensive experiments, we observed various organelle interactions and intercellular interactions in different types of photosensitive cells under extremely low light conditions. Moreover, we demonstrated that superior axial resolution facilitates more robust blood cell tracking in zebrafish larvae at high speed.

Molecular dynamics investigations of the size effects on mechanical properties and deformation mechanism of amorphous and monocrystalline composite AlFeNiCrCu high-entropy alloy nanowires.

The atomic models of amorphous and monocrystalline composite AlFeNiCrCu high-entropy alloy nanowires were established via the molecular dynamics method. The effects of amorphous structure thickness on mechanical properties and deformation mechanism were investigated by applying tensile and compressive loads to the nanowires. As the thickness of amorphous structures increases, the tensile yield strength decreases, and the asymmetry between tension and compression decreases. The tensile deformation mechanism transforms from the coupling interactions between stacking faults in crystal structures and uniform deformation of amorphous structures to the individual actions of uniform deformation of amorphous structures. During the tensile process, the nanowires necking appears at amorphous structures, and the thinner amorphous structures, the more prone to necking. The compressive deformation mechanism is the synergistic effects of twins and SFs in crystal structures and uniform deformation of amorphous structures, which is irrelevant to amorphous structure thickness. Remarkably, amorphous structures transform into crystal structures in the amorphous and monocrystalline composite nanowires during the compressive process.