Dr. Alice Lassnig— Post-Doctoral Researcher as a Max Kade Fellow at UC Berkeley in the group of Prof. Andrew M. Minor 

Abstract: Interfaces within bi- and multilayered thin film structures are integral to numerous technological applications, yet their susceptibility to premature failure arising from the disparate physical properties of adjacent materials may be critical. Thus, understanding the mechanisms accompanying interface failure is crucial to understand potential toughening and failure mechanisms. Consequently, a thorough investigation into their reliability and an in-depth understanding of the underlying failure mechanisms are indispensable for advancing novel material composites and combinations. In the first part of our study, we concentrate on interfacial failure via thin film delamination through newly developed experimental techniques spanning the meso-scale down to the nano-scale, including a detailed stress analysis of the studied film using cross sectional x-ray diffraction and in situ TEM techniques coupled with nanodiffraction mapping during thin film delamination process. This approach allows us to understand thin film delamination across various length scales, providing insights into the diverse mechanisms of failure. In the second part, our focus shifts to the fatigue behavior of ductile layers integrated into crystalline-amorphous multilayers, considering the influence of their layer architecture. To investigate these phenomena at the nanoscale, we conduct cyclic crack propagation experiments in situ under the transmission electron microscope, enabling a detailed exploration of crack initiation and propagation across these interfaces. Our comprehensive approach encompasses both the meso-scale and nanoscale perspectives, incorporating in situ transmission electron microscopy to capture the mechanisms accompanying interfacial failure. Through this multifaceted investigation, we aim not only to enhance our understanding of interfacial failure via delamination and fatigue. Gaining a deeper understanding in those factors allows to contribute to the development of more reliable and adaptable material systems for diverse technological applications.

Biography: Alice Lassnig is currently a post-doctoral researcher as a Max Kade fellow at the UC Berkeley in the group of Prof. Andrew M. Minor, where she studies structure-crack interactions of nanocrystalline and amorphous materials as well as composites thereof using advanced in situ transmission electron microscopy techniques at the National Center of Electron Microscopy of the Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. She obtained her PhD in Experimental Physics at the University of Vienna, Austria (Europe) where she focused on the mechanical fatigue of bi-metallic interfaces and how brittle intermetallics evolving at such interfaces affect the fatigue behavior. She obtained a Marietta Blau fellowship which allowed her research stay as a visiting graduate student at the UC Santa Barbara in the group of Prof. Tresa Pollock. Afterwards, she obtained a Hertha Firnberg research grant awarded by the Austrian Science Fund to conduct postdoctoral research at the Erich Schmid Institute of Materials Science of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Leoben, Austria. There, she focused on studying thin film delamination spanning different length scales to gain deeper knowledge on the mechanisms. Across her research endeavors she has been particularly interested in microstructure- crack interactions and highresolution analyses thereof.