TY - JOUR A1 - Wollschläger, Nicole A1 - Tasdemir, Z. A1 - Häusler, Ines A1 - Leblebici, Y. A1 - Österle, Werner A1 - Alaca, B. E. T1 - Determination of the elastic behavior of silicon nanowires within a scanning electron microscope JF - Journal of Nanomaterials N2 - Three-point bending tests were performed on double-anchored, <110> silicon nanowire samples inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM) via a micromanipulator equipped with a piezo-resistive force sensor. Representing the upper and lower boundaries achievable in a consistent manner, silicon nanowires with widths of 35 nm and 74 nm and a height of 168 nm were fabricated. The nanowires were obtained monolithically along with their 10-m-tall supports through a top-down fabrication approach involving a series of etching processes. Hence, no interface compliance was introduced between supports and nanowires. Exact nanowire dimensions and cross-sectional features were determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) following sample preparation through focused ion beam (FIB) machining. Conducting the experiments inside an SEM chamber further raised the opportunity of the direct observation of any deviation from ideal loading conditions such as twisting, which was taken into consideration in simulations. Measured force-displacement behavior was observed to exhibit close resemblance to simulation results obtained by finite element modeling, when the bulk value of 169 GPa was taken as the modulus of elasticity for <110> silicon. Hence, test results show neither any size effect nor evidence of residual stresses for the considered nanoscale objects. The increased effect of the native oxide with reduced nanowire dimensions was captured as well. Thus this very simple in-situ testing method was found to be an alternative to elaborate AFM measurements on geometrically formidable nanostructures. The results demonstrate the applicability of the developed fabrication approach to the incorporation of silicon nanowires in functional micromechanical devices. KW - Silicon nanowire KW - Elastic behavior KW - Scanning electron microscope KW - Mechanical properties PY - 2016 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-370383 DO - https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/4905838 VL - 2016 SP - Article 4905838, 1 EP - 6 PB - Hindawi Publishing Corporation AN - OPUS4-37038 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tasdemir, Z. A1 - Wollschläger, Nicole A1 - Österle, Werner A1 - Leblebici, Y. A1 - Alaca, B. E. T1 - A deep etching mechanism for trench-bridging silicon nanowires JF - Nanotechnology N2 - Introducing a single silicon nanowire with a known orientation and dimensions to a specific layout location constitutes a major challenge. The challenge becomes even more formidable, if one chooses to realize the task in a monolithic fashion with an extreme topography, a characteristic of microsystems. The need for such a monolithic integration is fueled by the recent surge in the use of silicon nanowires as functional building blocks in various electromechanical and optoelectronic applications. This challenge is addressed in this work by introducing a top-down, silicon-on-insulator technology. The technology provides a pathway for obtaining well-controlled silicon nanowires along with microstructures up to a three-order-of-magnitude scale difference. A two-step etching process is developed, where the first shallow etch defines a nanoscale protrusion on the wafer surface. After applying a conformal protection on the protrusion, a deep etch step is carried out forming the surrounding microscale features. A minimum nanowire cross-section of 35 nm by 168 nm is demonstrated in the presence of an etch depth of 10 m. All cross-sectional features are characterized via transmission electron microscopy and linked to specific process steps. The technology allows control on all dimensional aspects along with the exact location and orientation of the silicon nanowire. KW - Silicon nanowire KW - Deep reactive ion etching KW - Transmission electron microscopy PY - 2016 DO - https://doi.org/10.1088/0957-4484/27/9/095303 SN - 0957-4484 SN - 1361-6528 VL - 27 IS - 9 SP - 095303-1 EP - 095303-8 PB - IOP Publishing AN - OPUS4-35789 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -