This paper presents a study of the deformation mechanisms of barium titanate

under nano-indentation. The (001) and (110) crystallographic orientations of

BaTiO3 giant grains were indented and critical mean contact pressures for

dislocation nucleation were extracted from the indentation curves. The orientation

of the dislocation slip lines was identified by atomic force microscopy, showing

that the <110>{110} glide systems were activated. Twin bands, observed on both

orientations, also occur on the {110} habit planes and actively participate in the

accommodation of the plastic deformation. Furthermore, dislocation pile-ups

introduced by spherical indentations have shown a close relation between

dislocations and twinning formation. Nanoindentation of BaTiO3: Dislocation Nucleation and Mechanical Twinning.

Y.Gaillard, A.H.Macías, J.Muñoz-Saldaña, M.Anglada, G.Trápaga: Journal of

Physics D, 2009, 42[8], 085502