Electrical transport in deformed nanostrips: electrical signature of reversible mechanical failure

Abstract

We calculate the electrical conductivity of a thin crystalline strip of atoms confined within a quasi-one-dimensional channel of fixed width. The conductivity shows anomalous behavior as the strip is deformed under tensile loading. Beyond a critical strain, the solid fails by the nucleation of alternating bands of solid and smectic-like phases accompanied by a jump in the conductivity. Since the failure of the strip in this system is known to be reversible, the conductivity anomaly may have practical use as a sensitive strain transducer.