Mechanical Characterization of Micro/Nano Structures

This paper reviews some of the important characterization techniques used to evaluate the mechanical properties of the micro or nanostructures and components. Three techniques based on AFM, nanoindentation and electric field induced resonance excitation methods were discussed in detail. In the following section mechanical characteristics of typical semiconducting or metallic materials with an emphasis on their micro/nano components are discussed. The influence of cross-section dimensions on the quasi-static strength of single and poly crystalline silicon micro specimens in bending and tension is examined. The differences in mechanical properties, testing methods and specimen dimensions were analyzed based on the recently reported data. A simple empirical correlation is presented with interpretation of the experimental data.