Mechanism of brittle-ductile transition of a glass-ceramic rigid substrate

The hardness, elastic modulus, and scratch resistance of a glass-ceramic rigid substrate were measured by nanoindentation and nanoscratch, and the fracture toughness was measured by indentation using a Vickers indenter. The results show that the hardness and elastic modulus at a peak indentation depth of 200 nm are 9.04 and 94.70 GPa, respectively. These values reflect the properties of the glass-ceramic rigid substrate. The fracture toughness value of the glass-ceramic rigid substrate is 2.63 MPa?m1/2. The material removal mechanisms are seen to be directly related to normal force on the tip. The critical load and scratch depth estimated from the scratch depth profile after scratching and the friction profile are 268.60 mN and 335.10 nm, respectively. If the load and scratch depth are under the critical values, the glass-ceramic rigid substrate will undergo plastic flow rather than fracture. The formula of critical depth of cut described by Bifnao et al. is modified based on the difference of critical scratch depth