Molecular dynamics simulation of the effect of temperature on the nanoindentation process of monocrystalline Si

With the help of molecular dynamics simulation, the model of monocrystalline Si workpiece and diamond indenter was established at the micro and nano scale, and the nanoindentation simulation at different temperatures was carried out to obtain the load displacement curve (P-h) at different temperatures, and then the influence of temperature change from 10k to 300K on the performance of silicon was explored. It is found that the lower the temperature, the higher the corresponding P-h curve, and the farther away from the origin is the intersection point of the unloading part of the P-h curve from the X-axis. At higher temperatures, the atomic spacing increases, and the atomic interaction force inside the Si is small, resulting in a small elastic recovery of the material, which ultimately makes the plastic indentation depth of Si.