Batch-compatible Integration of Nanowires with Uniaxial Micro Tensile Testing Platforms
type: CreativeWork
description: Nanoscale materials often have stochastic material properties due to random distribution of material defects and lack of sufficient number of defects to ensure a consistent average. Current methods to measure the mechanical properties employ microelectromechanical systems based tensile loading platforms. The nanoscale specimens are typically mounted manually onto the loading platforms with external integration techniques so the boundary conditions have random variations, complicating the experimental measurement of the stochasticity in the natural state of the material properties. In this Ph. D. thesis, we show methods for batch-compatible (i.e. monolithic) integration of nanoscale specimens cofabricated with the tensile loading platforms. The specimens are gold nanowires of 40 nm thickness, 350 nm to 410 nm width (depending on the specimen), and 7-micrometer length. The uniaxial micro tensile loading platforms are interdigitated electrode electrostatic actuators. The experiments are performed in a scanning electron microscope and digital image correlation is employed to measure displacements to determine nominal stress and nominal strain. The ultimate tensile strength of the nanocrystalline gold nanowires approach 1 GPa, consistent with the smaller-is-stronger paradigm. The batch-compatible integration method is designed to microfabricate uniaxial micro tensile testing platforms that are suitable for transmission electron microscope experiments. This batch-compatible integration method is designed also to create nominally identical nanoscale specimens and boundary conditions for a broad range of nanoscale materials provided the nanoscale materials of interest are compatible with the etchants used in the microfabrication processes. Furthermore, in addition to the batch-compatible integration method, a generalized external integration method that can be applied to free-standing thin-films is developed. Using this method, mechanical behavior of single crystal gold met…
abstract: Nanoscale materials often have stochastic material properties due to random distribution of material defects and lack of sufficient number of defects to ensure a consistent average. Current methods to measure the mechanical properties employ microelectromechanical systems based tensile loading platforms. The nanoscale specimens are typically mounted manually onto the loading platforms with external integration techniques so the boundary conditions have random variations, complicating the experimental measurement of the stochasticity in the natural state of the material properties. In this Ph. D. thesis, we show methods for batch-compatible (i.e. monolithic) integration of nanoscale specimens cofabricated with the tensile loading platforms. The specimens are gold nanowires of 40 nm thickness, 350 nm to 410 nm width (depending on the specimen), and 7-micrometer length. The uniaxial micro tensile loading platforms are interdigitated electrode electrostatic actuators. The experiments are performed in a scanning electron microscope and digital image correlation is employed to measure displacements to determine nominal stress and nominal strain. The ultimate tensile strength of the nanocrystalline gold nanowires approach 1 GPa, consistent with the smaller-is-stronger paradigm. The batch-compatible integration method is designed to microfabricate uniaxial micro tensile testing platforms that are suitable for transmission electron microscope experiments. This batch-compatible integration method is designed also to create nominally identical nanoscale specimens and boundary conditions for a broad range of nanoscale materials provided the nanoscale materials of interest are compatible with the etchants used in the microfabrication processes. Furthermore, in addition to the batch-compatible integration method, a generalized external integration method that can be applied to free-standing thin-films is developed. Using this method, mechanical behavior of single crystal gold met…
author: Yilmaz, Mehmet
language: English
keywords: Mechanical engineering, Nanotechnology
date published: 2013
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:44:25Z
provider: Columbia University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Columbia University

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.7916/D8348SMZ