A sample preparation method for four point bend adhesion studies

摘要

A method to prepare samples for four point bend testing is reported in this paper. The traditional method of sample preparation involves time-consuming steps of sawing with a diamond saw followed by polishing with fine grit to remove the roughness of the sidewall. The new method uses cleaving along the <100> crystallographic direction, which renders smooth surfaces and eliminates the polishing steps. Load-displacement curves comparing polished versus cleaved samples show that the new technique provides improved results. Elimination of fracture-inducing defects is the primary benefit of this method, which also leads to data with tighter distributions.