Transformation-induced plasticity in zirconia-based ceramics: an in situ microLaue experiment during compression of bi-crystal micropillars

Ceramic materials present an elastic-brittle behaviour at room temperature, leading to fracture before any sign of plasticity. This is linked to the low mobility of dislocations, compromising any ductility as is the case of metallic materials. Some zirconia-based ceramics can exhibit real plasticity at room temperature thanks to a martensitic phase transformation mechanism (tetragonal to monoclinic), which is similar to the transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) in shape-memory alloys.
With a stress and/or temperature-controlled phase transformation as a source of toughening, zirconia doped with cerium oxide ceramics are particularly remarkable, with a plastic deformation on the order of one percent before rupture and lower sensitivity to the presence of defects. Still, the transformation onset in not fully described. Thus, we conduct a multi-scale approach to that end, my means of Laue microdiffraction and in situ compression of ceria-doped zirconia micropillars.