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Harnessing dislocation motion using an electric field

Nature Materials volume 22, pages 958–963 (2023)Cite this article

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Abstract

Dislocation motion, an important mechanism underlying crystal plasticity, is critical for the hardening, processing and application of a wide range of structural and functional materials. For decades, the movement of dislocations has been widely observed in crystalline solids under mechanical loading. However, the goal of manipulating dislocation motion via a non-mechanical field alone remains elusive. Here we present real-time observations of dislocation motion controlled solely by using an external electric field in single-crystalline zinc sulfide—the dislocations can move back and forth depending on the direction of the electric field. We reveal the non-stoichiometric nature of dislocation cores and determine their charge characteristics. Both negatively and positively charged dislocations are directly resolved, and their glide barriers decrease under an electric field, explaining the experimental observations. This study provides direct evidence of dislocation dynamics controlled by a non-mechanical stimulus and opens up the possibility of modulating dislocation-related properties.

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Fig. 1: Dislocation motion driven by an external electric field.
Fig. 2: The distinct mobility of 30° and 90° partial dislocations under an electric field.
Fig. 3: Atomic structures and charge distributions of 30° partial dislocations in ZnS.
Fig. 4: Glide barriers of dislocations based on atomic structure evolution.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available within the article and the supplementary information. Any other relevant data are also available upon reasonable request from the corresponding authors.

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Additional data including the codes are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

M.L. and Y.Z. acknowledge the financial support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Discovery Grant no. RGPIN-2018–05731); the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF) nos 38044 and 43597; and the Dean’s Spark Assistant Professorship from the University of Toronto. Y.S., K.L. and Q.A. were supported by the National Science Foundation (CMMI-2019459). P.X. acknowledges the support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Discovery Grant no. RGPIN-2022-02969; and ACENET and the Digital Research Alliance of Canada. P.G. acknowledges the support from the National Key R&D programme of China (2019YFA0708200); the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos 52125307 and 52021006); the ‘2011 Programʼ from the Peking-Tsinghua-IOP Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter; and Hefei National Laboratory. We thank J. Xu, J. Zhang and X. Ma at the Electron Microscopy Laboratory of Peking University for the support on focused ion beam and TEM studies; P. Gu and Y. Ye at Peking University for electrical measurements; and C. Wang at Shengzhen University and R. Shi at Peking University for helpful discussions and suggestions. Y.Z. acknowledges Prof. R. Spolenak at ETH Zurich for his inspiring initial discussion on electroplasticity.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Mingqiang Li & Yu Zou

  2. Electron Microscopy Laboratory and International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China

    Mingqiang Li & Peng Gao

  3. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA

    Yidi Shen, Kun Luo & Qi An

  4. Interdisciplinary Institute of Light-Element Quantum Materials and Research Center for Light-Element Advanced Materials, Peking University, Beijing, China

    Peng Gao

  5. Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

    Penghao Xiao

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Contributions

Y.Z. initiated the idea, developed the research theme, supervised the project and prepared the paper outline. M.L. designed and carried out the microfabrication and experiments, analysed the data and prepared the paper draft. P.G. provided experimental support and supervision; P.X. provided guidance on the DFT calculations and discussion; and Y.S. and K.L. carried out DFT calculations under the supervision of Q.A. and P.X. All authors contributed to this work through useful discussion, revision and comments to the paper.

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Correspondence to Qi An, Peng Gao, Penghao Xiao or Yu Zou.

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Extended data

Extended Data Fig. 1 Characterization of the structure of ZnS samples.

a, Atomic structure of sphalerite ZnS. Projections of sphalerite ZnS along the \([\bar{1}10]\) axis (b) and [111] axis (c). d, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image of a ZnS flake with a regular triangular shape. The edge length is about 15 μm. The inset SAED pattern shows the single-crystalline nature of ZnS samples. Atomically resolved HAADF images of the sphalerite ZnS along the \([\bar{1}10]\) axis (e) and [111] axis (f).

Extended Data Fig. 2 Characterization of Dislocations A-E in Fig. 2.

a, SAED pattern of the region with five dislocations in Fig. 2. Dark-field TEM images with g = \((02\bar{2})\) (b), \((20\bar{2})\) (c), \((2\bar{2}0)\) (d). g is the diffraction vector of the operating reflection. Note that Dislocations B and D are invisible in c while Dislocations A, C, and E are invisible in d. Burgers vectors of dislocations are defined by the invisibility criterion gb = 0. Dislocations A, C and E are 90° partial dislocations with the Burgers vector a/6\([11\bar{2}]\) while Dislocations B and D are 30° partial dislocations with the Burgers vector a/6\([1\bar{2}1]\). Dark points might be amorphous or dust induced by the FIB processing and absorption. The type of dislocation is determined by the angle between the dislocation line and the Burgers vector.

Extended Data Fig. 3 Pinning (a) and depinning (b) phenomena during the dislocation motion under an electric field.

White circles highlight the positions of two pinning points on Dislocations B and D.

Extended Data Fig. 4 Kink propagation process.

a-d, Kink propagation along the dislocation line during the in situ electrical testing in Fig. 2. White arrows point to the kink positions.

Extended Data Fig. 5 Net charge distribution of the 0.1e charged 90° S core (a) and the 0.1h charged 90° Zn core (b) from DFT calculations.

Blue and red clouds represent the extra electrons and holes, respectively.

Extended Data Fig. 6 MEPs of charged dislocations under an applied electric field.

Energy difference as a function of glide distance of the dislocations with a, 30° Zn core. b, 90° S core. c, 90° Zn core.

Extended Data Fig. 7 Dislocation motion driven by an external electric field when the electron beam is off.

a, The TEM image showing the initial positions of five dislocations. b, The electron beam is off for about 7 minutes: When the electron beam was off, the applied voltage was changed from 0 V to −149 V and then remained at −149 V for ~1.5 minutes. c, The TEM image shows Dislocations B and D moved away from the tip, even with the electron beam off. Dashed lines indicate the initial positions of Dislocation B and D before their motions. Arrows indicate the directions of the dislocation motions.

Extended Data Fig. 8 Dissociations of screw and 60° dislocations in ZnS.

a, HAADF images of a screw dislocation dissociated into two 30° partial dislocations. The closed Burgers circuit shows the overall projected Burgers vectors are zero on the \((\bar{1}10)\) plane, indicating these two partial dislocations are dissociated from a screw dislocation. b1 and b2 indicate the projected Burgers vectors of left and right partial dislocations are a/12\([\bar{1}\bar{1}2]\) and a/12\([11\bar{2}]\), respectively. White circles indicate terminated elements of dislocations cores. This is a stacking fault between two partial dislocations. Scale bar, 1 nm. b, HAADF images of a 60° dislocation dissociated into one 30° dislocation and one 90° partial dislocation. b3 and b4 indicate the projected Burgers vectors of left and right partial dislocations are a/12\([\bar{1}\bar{1}2]\) and a/6\([\bar{1}\bar{1}2]\), respectively. The Burgers circuit shows the overall projected Burgers vector b5 is a/4\([\bar{1}\bar{1}2]\) on the \((\bar{1}10)\) plane, indicating these two partial dislocations are dissociated from a 60° dislocation. There is a stacking fault between the two partial dislocations. Scale bar, 1 nm.

Extended Data Table 1 Dislocation types and corresponding Burgers vectors in ZnS
Full size table

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Figs. 1–13, Tables 1 and 2 and captions for Videos 1–3.

Supplementary Video 1

In situ TEM observation of an individual dislocation moved in an external electric field.

Supplementary Video 2

The different mobilities of 30° and 90° partial dislocations in an electric field.

Supplementary Video 3

Dislocation motion driven by an external electric field in the condition when the electron beam is off.

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Li, M., Shen, Y., Luo, K. et al. Harnessing dislocation motion using an electric field. Nat. Mater. 22, 958–963 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-023-01572-7

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