Nanometer-precision non-local deformation reconstruction using nanodiamond orientation sensing

TL;DR

This paper introduces a nanodiamond-based method combined with AFM nanoindentation to achieve nanometer-precision, non-local deformation mapping of materials, revealing detailed deformation behaviors at micro and nanoscale levels.

Contribution

It presents a novel integration of nanodiamond orientation sensing with AFM to enable non-local, high-precision deformation reconstruction at the nanoscale.

Findings

Achieved 5 nm precision in the loading direction.

Mapped deformation of PDMS and gelatin microgels with high spatial resolution.

Disclosed surface/interface effects in material deformation.

Abstract

Information of material deformation upon loading is critical to evaluate mechanical properties of materials in general, and key to understand fundamental mechano-stimuli induced response of live systems in particular. Conventionally, such information is obtained at macroscopic scale about averaged properties, which misses the important details of deformation at individual structures; or at nanoscale with localized properties accessed, which misses the information of deformation at locations away from the force-loading positions. Here we demonstrate that an integration of nanodiamond orientation sensing and AFM nanoindentation offers a complementary approach to the nonlocal reconstruction of material deformation. This approach features a 5 nm precision in the loading direction and a sub-hundred nanometer lateral resolution. Using this tool, we mapped out the deformation of a PDMS thin film in air and that of the gelatin microgel particles in water, with precision high enough to disclose the significance of the surface/interface effects in the material deformation. The non-local nanometer-precision sensing of deformation upon a local impact brings in new opportunities in studying mechanical response of complex material systems.