Viscoelasticity of stepped interfaces

• Main Authors: Demkowicz, Michael J. (Contributor), Skirlo, Scott A. (Contributor)
• Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering (Contributor), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics (Contributor)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Institute of Physics (AIP), 2015-02-12T20:54:59Z.
• Subjects: Article
• Online Access: Get fulltext

Using molecular dynamics modeling, we show that interfaces in sputter deposited Cu-Nb superlattices exhibit time-dependent elasticity, i.e., viscoelasticity, under shear loading. In the high temperature and small strain rate limit, the interfacial shear modulus approaches a value proportional to the density of steps in the interface. It may therefore be possible to tailor the low-frequency shear moduli of interfaces by controlling their step densities.
National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant 1150862)
MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI-Chile Seed Grant)
MIT Energy Initiative (Summer Fellowship)