The cracks introduced by the low-load indentation of a single crystal were investigated by means of high-resolution electron microscopy. The observations revealed dislocation generation, lattice distortion and a transformation from a crystalline to a disordered structure; leading to the occurrence of an amorphous band ahead of the crack tip.

Structure at the Crack Tip in GaAs. Z.C.Li, L.Liu, X.Wu, L.L.He, Y.B.Xu: Philosophical Magazine Letters, 2003, 83[4], 217-21