Effect of mechanical deformations on the growth of crystals (according to atomic force microscopy data)

Abstract

Nanosized morphological transformations occurring on the surface of a crystal in the area drawn by a probe needle during the growth of a scratch and the growth kinetics of crystals subjected to mechanical impact have been studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM). A series of experiments with mechanical impact on topographically different areas of a growing face (100) of a dioxidine crystal has been performed. It has been shown that even slight local contact between the probe needle and the surface on a nanoscale leads to essential crystallogenetic (morphological and kinetic) consequences, and its effect is perceptible for a long time. Among these consequences are the coarsening of stages, the appearance of great fluctuations in the growth rate of stages, the loss of morphological stability by the surface even at a distance of several tens of micrometers from the contact area, and also the phenomenon of simultaneous growth and dissolution in neighboring areas of stages.