Monocrystalline microwires of silver are produced by means of a novel casting process that combines precise mold production by silicon microfabrication with molten metal pressure infiltration. The wires have a shape amenable to tensile testing and a diameter from a few to several tens of micrometer. Displacement-controlled in-situ tensile tests are conducted at room-temperature, 200 °C and 400 °C. Data are compared with bulk counterparts of the same silver cast to have a diameter near 1 mm. Results show clear evidence of small-scale plasticity. The influence of size, crystal orientation, and temperature on the deformation, yield, strain burst statistics and strain hardening of these micrometric dense metal samples is analyzed. Yield stress values agree with the single arm source model provided that the density of forest dislocations comprises a scale-dependent component likely resulting from thermal mismatch stresses. Statistics of strain burst amplitudes agree with an exponentially truncated power-law complementary cumulative distribution. The power-law exponent agrees with predictions of mean-field theory, while the cutoff intensity exhibits no visible dependence on sample diameter or test temperature and agrees with predictions of current theory.

单晶银微线是通过一种新颖的铸造工艺生产的，该工艺将硅微细加工的精密模具生产与熔融金属压力渗透相结合。线材具有适合拉伸测试的形状和从几微米到几十微米的直径。原位位移控制拉伸试验在室温、200℃和400℃下进行。将数据与直径接近 1 毫米的相同银铸件的散装对应物进行比较。结果显示了小规模可塑性的明确证据。分析了尺寸、晶体取向和温度对这些测微致密金属样品的变形、屈服、应变爆发统计和应变硬化的影响。屈服应力值与单臂源模型一致，前提是森林位错的密度包含可能由热失配应力引起的与尺度相关的分量。应变突发振幅的统计数据与指数截断的幂律互补累积分布一致。幂律指数与平均场理论的预测一致，