A MEMS nanoindenter with an integrated AFM cantilever gripper for nanomechanical characterization of compliant materials
At a Glance
Section titled âAt a Glanceâ| Metadata | Details |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | 2020-04-14 |
| Journal | Nanotechnology |
| Authors | Zhi Li, Shuang Gao, Uwe Brand, Karla Hiller, Helmut Wolff |
| Institutions | Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Chemnitz University of Technology |
| Citations | 19 |
Abstract
Section titled âAbstractâThis work presents the development of a MEMS nanoindenter that uses exchangeable AFM probes for quasi-static nanomechanical characterization of compliant and ultra-compliant materials. While the electrostatic micro-force transducer of the MEMS nanoindenter provides a maximum indentation depth up to 9.5 ”m with a maximum output force of 600 ”N, experimental investigations reveal that it can achieve a depth and force resolution better than 4 pm Hz<sup>-1/2</sup> and 0.3 nN Hz<sup>-1/2</sup>, in air for fâ„ 1 Hz. A passive AFM probe gripper is integrated into the MEMS nanoindenter, allowing the nanoindenter to utilize various AFM probes as an indenter for material testing. A proof-of-principle experimental setup has been built to investigate the performance of the MEMS nanoindenter prototype. In proof-of-principle experiments, the prototype with a clamped diamond AFM probe successfully identified an atomic step (âŒ0.31 nm) within a Si < 111 > ultraflat sample using the scanning probe microscopy mode. The nanomechanical measurement capability of the MEMS nanoindenter prototype has been verified by means of measurements of reference polymer samples using a silicon AFM probe and by means of measurements of the elastic properties of a PDMS sample using a spherical diamond-coated AFM probe. Owing to its compact and low-cost but high-resolution capacitive readout system, this MEMS nanoindenter head can be further applied for in-situ quantitative nanomechanical measurements in AFMs and SEMs.