During hardness indentation, materials are subjected to highly localized stresses. These stresses not only cause crack formation and plastic deformation by dislocation gliding, but a complete change of the crystal structure and formation of amorphous phases or high-pressure polymorphs can occur in the zone of maximum contact stresses. Such contact-induced phase transformations were observed in hard and brittle materials including semiconductors (Si, Ge, GaAs and InSb) and common ceramic materials such as SiC and SiO 2 (a-quartz and silica glass). A prime tool for their investigation is the Raman microspectroscopy of hardness indentations.
In Si and Ge, there is an initial transformation to metallic high-pressure phases upon hardness indentation and a subsequent formation of crystalline, nanocrystalline, or amorphous phases depending on the conditions of the hardness test, in particular the unloading rate. A phase transformation occurs also in InSb, whereas the results for GaAs do not give sufficient evidence for phase transformations. Indentationinduced amorphization has been observed in SiC and quartz. Even diamond has been shown to undergo amorphization and phase transformation under nonhydrostatic stress conditions imposed by indentation tests.Plate 1. Light micrograph of (a) a Vickers impression in diamond, (b) typical Raman spectrum from the central part of the impression and Raman intensity images showing (c) distribution of diamond and (d) graphite. Colour change from dark blue to yellow indicates the increase of the Raman band intensity from zero to the maximum. (Excitation wavelength: 632.8nm)