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Mechanical Properties of Micromachined Structures

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Springer Handbook of Nanotechnology

Part of the book series: Springer Handbooks ((SHB))

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Abstract

To be able to accurately design structures and make reliability predictions, in any field it is necessary first to know the mechanical properties mechanical properties of the materials that make up the structural components. In the fields of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) MEMS and nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS), NEMS the devices are necessarily very small. The processing techniques and microstructures of the materials in these devices may differ significantly from bulk structures. Also, the surface-area-to-volume ratio in these structures is much higher than in bulk samples, and so the surface properties become much more important. In short, it cannot be assumed that mechanical properties measured using bulk specimens will apply to the same materials when used in MEMS and NEMS. This chapter will review the techniques that have been used to determine the mechanical properties of micromachined structures, especially residual stress, stress strength, strength and Young's modulus. Young's modulus The experimental measurements that have been performed will then be summarized, in particular the values obtained for polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon).

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Abbreviations

LPCVD:

low pressure chemical vapor deposition

MEMS:

microelectromechanical systems

NEMS:

nanoelectromechanical systems

SEM:

scanning electron microscope/microscopy

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, 44106-7204, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Harold Kahn Prof. Dr.

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  1. Harold Kahn Prof. Dr.
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Nanotribology Laboratory for Information Storage and MEMS/NEMS, The Ohio State University, 206 W. 18th Avenue, 43210-1107, Columbus, OH, USA

    Bharat Bhushan Prof.

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© 2004 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Kahn, H. (2004). Mechanical Properties of Micromachined Structures. In: Bhushan, B. (eds) Springer Handbook of Nanotechnology. Springer Handbooks. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-29838-X_34

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-29838-X_34

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-01218-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-29838-0

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