Large-scale atomistic study of plasticity in amorphous gallium oxide with ab-initio accuracy

Abstract Compared to the widely investigated crystalline polymorphs of gallium oxide ( $${\text {Ga}_{2}\text {O}_{3}}$$ ), knowledge about its amorphous state is very limited. With the help of a machine-learning interatomic potential, we conducted large-scale atomistic simulations to investigate th...

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Main Authors: Jiahui Zhang, Junlei Zhao, Jesper Byggmästar, Erkka J. Frankberg, Antti Kuronen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-03-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-93874-w
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author Jiahui Zhang
Junlei Zhao
Jesper Byggmästar
Erkka J. Frankberg
Antti Kuronen
author_facet Jiahui Zhang
Junlei Zhao
Jesper Byggmästar
Erkka J. Frankberg
Antti Kuronen
author_sort Jiahui Zhang
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Compared to the widely investigated crystalline polymorphs of gallium oxide ( $${\text {Ga}_{2}\text {O}_{3}}$$ ), knowledge about its amorphous state is very limited. With the help of a machine-learning interatomic potential, we conducted large-scale atomistic simulations to investigate the formation and plastic behavior of amorphous $${\text {Ga}_{2}\text {O}_{3}}$$ (a- $${\text {Ga}_{2}\text {O}_{3}}$$ ). Amorphization of gallium oxide melt is successfully observed at ultrahigh cooling rates, including a distinct glass transition. The glass transition temperature is evaluated to range from 1234 to 1348 K at different cooling rates. Structural analysis shows similarities between a- $${\text {Ga}_{2}\text {O}_{3}}$$ and amorphous alumina (a- $${\text {Al}_{2}\text {O}_{3}}$$ ) in many aspects, including pair distribution function, coordination distribution, and bond angle distribution. In the tension simulations, highly plastic behavior at room temperature is observed, highly comparable to a- $${\text {Al}_{2}\text {O}_{3}}$$ . Based on multiple quantitative characterization results, we show that a- $${\text {Ga}_{2}\text {O}_{3}}$$ exhibits a higher nucleation rate of localized plastic strain events compared to a- $$\text {Al}_{2}\text {O}_{3}$$ , which can increase the material’s resistance to shear banding formation during deformation.
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spelling doaj-art-9c453477730446f5b8cdd9ec4e6783cb2025-08-20T02:41:31ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-03-0115111310.1038/s41598-025-93874-wLarge-scale atomistic study of plasticity in amorphous gallium oxide with ab-initio accuracyJiahui Zhang0Junlei Zhao1Jesper Byggmästar2Erkka J. Frankberg3Antti Kuronen4Department of Physics, University of HelsinkiDepartment of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Southern University of Science and TechnologyDepartment of Physics, University of HelsinkiMaterials Science and Environmental Engineering Unit, Tampere UniversityDepartment of Physics, University of HelsinkiAbstract Compared to the widely investigated crystalline polymorphs of gallium oxide ( $${\text {Ga}_{2}\text {O}_{3}}$$ ), knowledge about its amorphous state is very limited. With the help of a machine-learning interatomic potential, we conducted large-scale atomistic simulations to investigate the formation and plastic behavior of amorphous $${\text {Ga}_{2}\text {O}_{3}}$$ (a- $${\text {Ga}_{2}\text {O}_{3}}$$ ). Amorphization of gallium oxide melt is successfully observed at ultrahigh cooling rates, including a distinct glass transition. The glass transition temperature is evaluated to range from 1234 to 1348 K at different cooling rates. Structural analysis shows similarities between a- $${\text {Ga}_{2}\text {O}_{3}}$$ and amorphous alumina (a- $${\text {Al}_{2}\text {O}_{3}}$$ ) in many aspects, including pair distribution function, coordination distribution, and bond angle distribution. In the tension simulations, highly plastic behavior at room temperature is observed, highly comparable to a- $${\text {Al}_{2}\text {O}_{3}}$$ . Based on multiple quantitative characterization results, we show that a- $${\text {Ga}_{2}\text {O}_{3}}$$ exhibits a higher nucleation rate of localized plastic strain events compared to a- $$\text {Al}_{2}\text {O}_{3}$$ , which can increase the material’s resistance to shear banding formation during deformation.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-93874-wGallium oxidePlasticityAmorphous phaseMolecular dynamicsMachine learning
spellingShingle Jiahui Zhang
Junlei Zhao
Jesper Byggmästar
Erkka J. Frankberg
Antti Kuronen
Large-scale atomistic study of plasticity in amorphous gallium oxide with ab-initio accuracy
Scientific Reports
Gallium oxide
Plasticity
Amorphous phase
Molecular dynamics
Machine learning
title Large-scale atomistic study of plasticity in amorphous gallium oxide with ab-initio accuracy
title_full Large-scale atomistic study of plasticity in amorphous gallium oxide with ab-initio accuracy
title_fullStr Large-scale atomistic study of plasticity in amorphous gallium oxide with ab-initio accuracy
title_full_unstemmed Large-scale atomistic study of plasticity in amorphous gallium oxide with ab-initio accuracy
title_short Large-scale atomistic study of plasticity in amorphous gallium oxide with ab-initio accuracy
title_sort large scale atomistic study of plasticity in amorphous gallium oxide with ab initio accuracy
topic Gallium oxide
Plasticity
Amorphous phase
Molecular dynamics
Machine learning
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-93874-w
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AT erkkajfrankberg largescaleatomisticstudyofplasticityinamorphousgalliumoxidewithabinitioaccuracy
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