A theoretical model was proposed for lattice dislocation nucleation in deformed nanocrystalline ceramics with amorphous intergrain boundaries. According to the model, a lattice dislocation dipole nucleated at an amorphous intergrain boundary through a local plastic shear along the boundary cross section. The energy parameters of this nucleation process were calculated. It was demonstrated that the dislocation nucleation at amorphous intergrain boundaries was energetically favorable and could occur as an athermal process (without energy barrier) in the nanocrystalline phase of cubic silicon carbide 3C-SiC and in the TiN/a-Si3N4 nanocomposite over wide ranges of structural parameters and mechanical loads.

Dislocation Nucleation at Amorphous Intergrain Boundaries in Deformed Nanoceramics. S.V.Bobylev, I.A.Ovidko: Physics of the Solid State, 2008, 50[4], 642-8