Nanomechanical Traceable Metrology of Vertically Aligned Silicon and Germanium Nanowires by Nanoindentation

Abstract

Silicon and germanium pillar structures (i.e., micro-and nanowires) were fabricated by a top-down approach including nanoimprint lithography and cryogenic dry etching. Various etching parameters were tested to ensure a reliable fabrication process. The impression of nanomechanical properties of such 3-D structures were extracted experimentally by nanoindentation showing promising and comparative results to utilize such nanostructures as small force artefacts.

Versatilely tuned vertical silicon nanowire arrays by cryogenic reactive ion etching as a lithium-ion battery anode

“…Besides Raman spectroscopy, which is considered as an indirect mechanical testing method, nanoindentation had been employed in our previous investigation to directly characterize the mechanical properties of Si nanowires 29 , 68 , 69 . Here, Young’s modulus and hardness of vertical Si nanowires with different crystal orientations (i.e., Si <100> , Si <110> , and Si <111>) were determined.…”

A Review on Potential Mechanically Resistant Materials for Optical Multifunctional Surfaces: Bioinspired Surfaces with Advanced Properties

“…Nanoindentation has also been employed to study the elasticplastic deformation of patterned surfaces, including micro-pillar Si and Ge structures, through micro-compression tests. [85][86][87][88] These tests allow researchers to investigate the response of structured surfaces under mechanical stress and evaluate their mechanical robustness. Among different structure geometries, determining the Young's modulus and hardness of pillar-shaped structures is relatively easier compared to conical-shaped structures, mainly due to the presence of a large flat surface on the top of the pillar, which facilitates the measurement.…”