An Afm Study Of Key Phenomena Involved In The Fracture Of Glass

In the field of fracture of brittle materials, it has been early recognised that most of the key phenomena should take place at the nanometer scale. The best example is provided by the so-called Griffith flaws, the existence of which has been accepted to explain the large difference between experiment and theory. In the last decade, near field microscopy has been largely developed, which gives direct access to the surface with a very good spatial resolution. A research program has been started which aims to exploit the potential of AFM (atomic force microscopy) in order to better describe the mechanisms of glass fracture. The most important results obtained in this field have been summarised in this paper.