Advances in experimental mechanics at atomic scale

Abstract With the ongoing trend of miniaturizing electronic devices, the dimensions of metallic materials used in these devices decrease continuously from sub-microns to a few nanometers. Small-sized materials usually exhibit superior mechanical properties and dramatically different mechanical behaviors from their bulk counterparts. Deep insights into the atomistic mechanical behaviors in small-scale metals are of vital importance for designing new nanostructured materials to guarantee the reliability and stability of future nanodevices. This review firstly presents state-of-the-art experimental techniques and sample preparation methods for atomic-scale in situ deformation dynamics on small-sized metals. Then, recent advances in atomic-scale experimental mechanics are summarized, including size-dependent defect nucleation, twinning-related mechanism, phase transformation, diffusional deformation and pseudoelasticy. Finally, current limitations and future directions for research in the field of atomistic experimental mechanics are discussed.