Nidhin Mathews

I am a Materials Engineering researcher with interest in mechancial behaviour of materials (metals, ceramics and thin films) at micron length scales. I work with Prof. Gaurav Mohanty and team for my research activities. 

My research focusses of exploring the mechanical properties of different class of materials and understanding the mechanisms involved, using in situ indentation techniques inside scanning electron microscopes. I use different structural (SEM, TEM, EBSD, XRD) and mechanical (nanoindenation, DIC) characterisation tools to unravel the mechanical behaviour at micrometer length scales. I also explore the mechanical behaviour of materials over wide range of test condition strain rates (0.001 to 1000 /s) and high temperature indentations to understand the fundamental operative deformation mechanisms and to predict mechanical performance. I have expertise in pulsed laser deposition techniques for thin film growth, focused ion beam (FIB) machining to fabricate micro-scale specimens, like micropillars for compression and microcantilevers for fracture and bend tests. 

I completed my Ph.D from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India where I worked with Prof. Nagamani Jaya Balia in the micromechancis of materials group. 

Materials Science and Environmental Engineering

In situ micromehcanics, Mechanical behaviour of materials, Thin films, Nanoindentation, Electron microscopy techniques

• Research visit to Empa - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Thun, Switzerland
• Researcher at Tampere University, Tampere, Finland, July 2022 - July 2023
• Visiting Resercher at Tampere University, Tampere, Finland, December 2021 - February 2022
• Guest Scientist at Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH, Düsseldorf, Germany, March - May 2019
• Doctoral Researcher at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India, July 2016 - July 2022

1. N.G. Mathews, A.K. Saxena, C. Kirchlechner, G. Dehm, and B.N. Jaya; "Effect of size and domain orientation on strength of Barium Titanate", Scripta Materialia 182, (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2020.02.039 
2. N.G. Mathews, A.K. Mishra, B.N. Jaya; "Mode dependent evaluation of fracture behavior using cantilever bending", Theoretical and Applied Fracture Mechanics 115, (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tafmec.2021.103069 
3. B.N. Jaya, N.G. Mathews, A.K. Mishra, S Basu, K. Jacob; "Non-conventional small-scale mechanical testing of materials", Journal of the Indian Institute of Science 102, (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41745-022-00302-3 
4. N. G. Mathews, A. K. Saxena, N. Venkataramani, G. Dehm, B. N. Jaya; "Multiscale characterization of damage tolerance in Barium Titanate thin films", Journal of Applied Physics 132, (2022). https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0095139 (Featured article)
5. N. G. Mathews, A. Lambai, G. Mohanty, N. Venkataramani, G. Dehm, B. N. Jaya; "Effect of stiff substrates on enhancing the fracture resistance of Barium Titanate thin films", Materials and Design 235, (2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2023.112440