Silicon is under consideration as a substrate material for the mirror masses and quasi-monolithic suspension stages of 'third generation' gravitational wave detectors. Identifying a jointing technique to attach the silicon suspension elements to the optics with repeatable high strength and low mechanical loss is critical. Hydroxide-catalysis bonding is the method of choice for current quasimonolithic silica suspensions. Here we present measurements of the shear strength of hydroxide-catalysis bonds between silicon samples. Strengths of approximately 3.9 N mm −2 are found, comparable to strengths found for silica to silica bonds. Scanning electron microscope imaging shows that the bonds between two silicon parts with thermally grown SiO 2 layers are wedged with bond thicknesses varying from 30 nm to several micrometres. We suggest a possible explanation for this observation.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.