Ideal strength of diamond, Si, and Ge - art. no. 212103

We have calculated the ideal shear strength and ideal tensile strength of C , Si, and Ge in the diamond structure. We find ideal shear strengths of 95 GPa, 6.5 GPa. and 4.5 GPa, and ideal tensile strengths of 95 GPa. 23 GPa, a nd 14 GPa for C, Si and Ge respectively. The shear calculation is performed on the {111} slip plane sheared in a < 112 > direction, and the tensile lo ad is applied in the < 111 > direction. We allowed for a full relaxation of the strains orthogonal to the applied strain as well as the atomic basis v ectors.