System and method for mechanical testing of freestanding microscale to nanoscale thin films
AssigneeThe Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
InventorsThomas Mackin, Zayd Leseman
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Abstract
Method and device for measuring mechanical properties of microscale and nanoscale thin film membranes. A testing system comprises a unitary material load cell, including a substrate, a beam supported to the substrate at its ends and otherwise substantially free from the substrate, a test-probe extending from the substrate and connected to the beam, and a scale to measure movement of the test-probe relative to the substrate. The system further comprises a thin film support, supporting a thin film at its circumference and providing a freestanding thin film, and a positioner to move the unitary material load cell for controlled pushing against the freestanding thin film.
Claims40
A micro-scale and nano-scale chip thin-film testing system comprising:
- a unitary material load cell, the load cell including:
- a substrate;
- a beam supported by the substrate at its ends and otherwise substantially free from the substrate;
- a test-probe extending from the substrate perpendicular to said beam and connected to said beam;
- a scale to measure movement of the test-probe relative to the substrate;
- a thin film support, the support supporting a thin film at its circumeference to define a freestanding thin film;
- and
- a micro-positioner to move said unitary material load cell for controlled pushing against the freestanding thin film.
A method for nano-scale or micro-scale thin film testing, comprising:
- supporting a thin film at its circumference to provide a freestanding thin film;
- pushing against the freestanding thin film with a micro-scale test-probe at the center of the freestanding thin film, the test-probe being part of a movable load cell having well-defined mechanical properties;
- measuring an amount of displacement of the test-probe relative to the load cell;
- and
- determining material properties of the thin film from the amount of displacement measured in said step of measuring.
A method for calibrating a micro-scale or nano-scale load cell having a probe and a substrate, the method comprising:
- providing a load cell having a probe and a substrate;
- loading a probe of the load cell at a free end with at least one calibrated weight;
- for each calibrated weight, measuring a displacement of an opposing free end of the loaded probe relative to the substrate;
- determining a relationship between force and displacement for the load cell based on the measured displacement for each calibrated weight.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.