Influence of GaAs crystal anisotropy on deformation behavior and residual stress distribution of nanoscratching

Molecular dynamics simulation method is carried out to study influence of GaAs crystal anisotropy on deformation behavior and residual stress distribution of nanoscratching. The scratching process of three crystal orientations of GaAs[100], GaAs[110] and GaAs[111] is investigated, respectively. It is found that there exists significant crystal anisotropy of the deformation behavior and residual stress distribution. Meanwhile, atomic pile-up, destruction depth, scratching force, surface topography, internal structure, residual stress are closely related to the GaAs crystal orientations. A new method to study the residual stress distribution of nanoscratching is proposed. It is observed that the residual stress is focused on the scratching region and its limits, and the two sides of the scratch are distributed symmetrically. The component of residual stress at the GaAs[100] scratching bottom is mainly the compressive stress in the y-axis direction. The average scratching force for the GaAs[110] scratch is the smallest and the pile-up height on the upper surface of the GaAs[110] workpiece is the largest. Eventually, the destruction depth of the crystal structure of the GaAs[110] workpiece by the abrasive in the scratching process is the smallest among three crystal orientations, while that of the GaAs[100] scratch is the largest among three crystal orientations.