HR-EBSD analysis of in situ stable crack growth at the micron scale

<p>Understanding the local fracture resistance of microstructural features, such as brittle inclusions, coatings, and interfaces, at the microscale is critical for microstructure-informed design of materials. In this study, a novel approach has been formulated to decompose the </p> <p>-integral evaluation of the elastic energy release rate to the three-dimensional stress intensity factors directly from experimental measurements of the elastic deformation gradient tensors of the crack field by in situ high (angular) resolution electron backscatter diffraction (HR-EBSD). An exemplar study is presented of a quasi-static crack, inclined to the observed surface, propagating on low index </p> <p> planes in a (001) single crystal silicon wafer.</p>