Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T22:14:36.806Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Fatigue crack growth in micro-machined single-crystal silicon

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2011

Emily D. Renuart ,
Alissa M. Fitzgerald ,
Thomas W. Kenny  and
Reinhold H. Dauskardt
Emily D. Renuart
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305
Alissa M. Fitzgerald
Affiliation:
Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305
Thomas W. Kenny
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305
Reinhold H. Dauskardt*
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305
*
b)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

Although crystalline silicon is not generally considered susceptible to fatigue crack growth, recent studies suggest that there may be fatigue processes in silicon micro-machined structures. In the present study, a micro-machined fracture specimen geometry was used to examine stable crack growth under fatigue loading. Crack length and loads were carefully monitored throughout the test to distinguish between environmentally assisted crack growth (stress corrosion) and mechanically induced fatigue-crack growth. Results revealed similar steplike crack extension versus time for the cyclic and monotonic tests. The fatigue crack-growth curve extracted from the crack extension data exhibited a nearly vertical slope with no evidence of accelerated crack-growth rates. Fracture surfaces for the monotonic and cyclic tests were similar, further suggesting that a true mechanical fatigue crack-growth mechanism did not occur. Explanations for the observed lack of fatigue crack growth are presented and discussed with respect to reported stress-life behavior.

Keywords

SiliconFatigueMicroelectrical mechanical (MEMS)
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 19 , Issue 9 , September 2004 , pp. 2635 - 2640
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2004

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1.Yi, T. andKim, C.: Measurement of mechanical properties for MEMS materials. Meas. Sci. Technol. 10 706 (1999).Google Scholar
2.Lawn, B.R., Hockey, B.J. andWiederhorn, S.M.: Atomically sharp cracks in brittle solids: An electron microscopy study. J. Mater. Sci. 15 1207 (1980).Google Scholar
3.Dauskardt, R.H., Marshal, D.B. andRitchie, R.O.: Cyclic fatigue-crack propagation in Mg-PSZ ceramics. J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 73 893 (1990).Google Scholar
4.Dauskardt, R.H.: A frictional-wear mechanism for fatigue-crack growth in grain bridging ceramics. Acta Metall. Mater. 41 2765 (1993).Google Scholar
5.Dill, S.J., Bennison, S.J. andDauskardt, R.H.: Subcritical crack-growth behavior of borosilicate glass under cyclic loads: Evidence of a mechanical fatigue effect. J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 80 773 (1997).Google Scholar
6.Yi, K.S., Dill, S.J. andDauskardt, R.H.: Subcritical crack-growth behavior in glasses and ceramics: Effect of hydrodynamic pressures in aqueous environments. Acta Mater. Mater. 45 2671 (1997).Google Scholar
7.Mutoh, M., Iyoda, M., and Fujita, K.: Development of integrated semiconductor-type acceleration. In Proc. 1990 IEEE Workshop on Electronic Applications in Transportation. (1990), pp. 35–38.Google Scholar
8.Ye, X.Y., Zhou, Z.Y., Yang, Y., Zhang, J.H., and Yao, J.: Determination of the mechanical properties of microstructures. In Solid-State Sensors and Actuators, pp. 100–103 (1995).Google Scholar
9.Brown, S.B., Povirk, G. andConnally, J.: Measurement of slow crack growth in silicon and nickel mechanical devices. IEEE Microelectromechanical Systems, 99 (1993).Google Scholar
10.Tsuchiya, T., Inoue, A., Sakata, J., Hashimoto, M., Yokoyama, A., and Sugimoto, M.: Fatigue test of single crystal silicon resonator, in Technical Digest of the 16th Sensor Symposium (1998) pp. 277–280.Google Scholar
11.Muhlstein, C., Brown, S. andRitchie, R.O.: High-cycle fatigue of single-crystal silicon thin films. J. MEMS 10 593 (2001).Google Scholar
12.Muhlstein, C.L., Brown, S.B. andRitchie, R.O.: High-cycle fatigue and durability of polycrystalline silicon thin films in ambient air, Sens. Actuators, A Phys. 94 177 (2001).Google Scholar
13.Muhlstein, C.L., Stach, E.A. andRitchie, R.O.: Mechanism of fatigue in micron-scale films of polycrystalline silicon for microelectromechanical systems. Appl. Phys. Lett. 80 1532 (2002).Google Scholar
14.Muhlstein, C.L., Howe, R.T. andRitchie, R.O.: Fatigue of polycrystalline silicon for microelectromechanical system applications: Crack growth and stability under resonant loading conditions. Mech. Mater. 36 13 (2004).Google Scholar
15.Kahn, H., Ballarini, R., Bellante, J.J. andHeuer, A.H.: Fatigue failure in polysilicon not due to simple stress corrosion cracking. Science 298 1215 (2002).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16.Sharpe, W.N. andBagdahn, J.: Fatigue testing of polysilicon-a review. Mech. Mater. 36 3 (2004).Google Scholar
17.Dauskardt, R.H., Ritchie, R.O., Takemoto, J.K. andBrendzel, A.M.: Cyclic fatigue and fracture in pyrolytic carbon-coated graphite mechanical heart-valve prostheses: Role of small cracks in life prediction. J. Biomech. Mater. Res. 28 791 (1994).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
18.Ritchie, R.O. andDauskardt, R.H.: Cyclic fatigue of ceramics: A fracture mechanics approach to subcritical crack growth and life prediction. J. Ceram. Soc. Jpn. 99 1047 (1991).Google Scholar
19.Gonzalez, A.C. andPantano, C.G.: A compression-loaded double cantilever beam specimen. J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 73 2534 (1990).Google Scholar
20.Fitzgerald, A.M., Iyer, R.S., Dauskardt, R.H. andKenny, T.W.: Subcritical crack growth in single crystal silicon using micro-machined specimens. J. Mater. Res. 17 683 (2002).Google Scholar
21.Dauskardt, R.H., Yu, W. andRitchie, R.O.: Fatigue crack propagation in transformation-toughened zirconia ceramic. J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 70 C-248 (1987).Google Scholar
22.Fitzgerald, A.M., Dauskardt, R.H. andKenny, T.W.: Fracture toughness and crack growth phenomena of plasma-etched single crystal silicon, Sens. Actuators, A Phys. 83 194 (2000).Google Scholar
23.Fitzgerald, A.M., Dauskardt, R.H. andKenny, T.W.: Stress wave interference effects during fracture of silicon micromachined specimens. J. Exp. Mech. 43 317 (2003).Google Scholar