Accurate and Precise Determination of Mechanical Properties of Silicon Nitride Beam Nanoelectromechanical Devices.
Accurate and precise determination of mechanical properties of nanoscale materials is mandatory since device performances of nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) are closely related to the flexural properties of the materials. In this study, the intrinsic mechanical properties of highly stressed silicon nitride (SiN) beams of varying lengths are investigated using two different techniques: Dynamic flexural measurement using optical interferometry and quasi-static flexural measurement using atomic force microscopy. The resonance frequencies of the doubly clamped, highly stressed beams are found to be inversely proportional to their length, which is not usually observed from a beam but is expected from a string-like structure. The mass density of the SiN beams can be precisely determined from the dynamic flexural measurements by using the values for internal stress and Young's modulus determined from the quasi-static measurements. As a result, the mass resolution of the SiN beam resonators was predicted to be a few attograms, which was found to be in excellent agreement with the experimental results. This work suggests that accurate and precise determination of mechanical properties can be achieved through combined flexural measurement techniques, which is a crucial key for designing practical NEMS applications such as biomolecular sensors and gas detectors.
Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) , Daejeon 34113, Korea.
Hakseong
H
Kim
Department of Physics, Ewha Womans University , Seoul 03760, Korea.
Dong Hoon
DH
Shin
Department of Physics, Ewha Womans University , Seoul 03760, Korea.
Kirstie
K
McAllister
Department of Physics, Ewha Womans University , Seoul 03760, Korea.
Miri
M
Seo
Division of Quantum Phases & Devices, School of Physics, Konkuk University , Seoul 05029, Korea.
Sangik
S
Lee
National Nanofab Center, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology , Daejeon 34141, Korea.
Il-Suk
IS
Kang
Division of Quantum Phases & Devices, School of Physics, Konkuk University , Seoul 05029, Korea.
Bae Ho
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0928-329X
BH
Park
Division of Quantum Phases & Devices, School of Physics, Konkuk University , Seoul 05029, Korea.|EaStCHEM, School of Chemistry, Edinburgh University , David Brewster Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FJ, U.K.
Eleanor E B
EE
Campbell
Department of Physics, Ewha Womans University , Seoul 03760, Korea.
Sang Wook
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2265-4761
SW
Lee
biomolecular sensors; gas detectors; mass sensors; nanoelectromechanical systems; resonators