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Deformation and fracture of single-crystal silicon theta-like specimens

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 October 2011

Michael S. Gaither ,
Frank W. DelRio ,
Richard S. Gates  and
Robert F. Cook
Michael S. Gaither*
Affiliation:
Nanomechanical Properties Group, Material Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899
Frank W. DelRio
Affiliation:
Nanomechanical Properties Group, Material Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899
Richard S. Gates
Affiliation:
Nanomechanical Properties Group, Material Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899
Robert F. Cook
Affiliation:
Nanomechanical Properties Group, Material Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Single-crystal silicon test specimens, fabricated by lithography and deep reactive ion etching (DRIE), were used to measure microscale deformation and fracture properties. The mechanical properties of two specimen geometries, both in the form of a Greek letter Θ (theta), were measured using an instrumented indentation system. The DRIE process generated two different surface structures leading to two strength distributions that were specimen geometry independent: One distribution, centered about 2.1 GPa, was controlled by 35 nm surface roughness of scallops; the second distribution, centered about 1.4 GPa, was controlled by larger, 150 nm, pitting defects. Finite element analyses (FEA) converted measured loads into strengths; tensile elastic measurements validated the FEA. Fractographic observations verified failure locations. The theta specimen and testing protocols are shown to be extremely effective at testing statistically relevant (hundreds) numbers of samples to establish processing–structure–property relationships at ultrasmall scales and for determining design parameters for components of microelectromechanical systems.

Keywords

StrengthSiFracture
Type
Invited Feature Paper
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 26 , Issue 20 , 28 October 2011 , pp. 2575 - 2589
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2011

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