Description:
<jats:p>
It is very important to know the minimum value of the micro-Vickers indentation load when indents with cracks are obtained. Atomic force microscope imaging of cracks around indents made on both Si(100) and GaAs(100) by an indenter is described. The indents made with an applied load of 50 mN were pyramidal depressions of about 3 µ m×3 µ m at the top and a depth of about 0.4 µ m. The observed cracks on Si were meandering curves starting from the area near the corners of the indents and were steps with the maximum height of nearly 100 nm. The cracks are longest when their directions are parallel to <011>, and crack length decreases directions are the closer to <010>. In contrast to Si, straight cracks as ridges with the height of 10 nm to 30 nm were also observed in GaAs. They were isolated from the indent and almost parallel to the <010> or <011> orientation of the crystal.
</jats:p>