Low temperature plasticity of brittle materials. A new device for compressive testing under confining pressure

The device originally designed by Griggs and Kennedy in order to deform minerals under confining pressure is adapted for the study of the low temperature plasticity of semiconductors. The new device is less versatile but much more simple. It can be used in a range of low temperatures (20 to 200 °C) and up to a pressure of 0.9 GPa. The solid confining medium is made of lead and silicone rubber. As friction forces are reduced to approximately 1 kN, stress-strain curves can be obtained with a high resolution. Finally the first applications to the study of the low temperature plasticity of gallium arsenide are reported.