| Issue |
Eur. Phys. J. Appl. Phys.
Volume 94, Number 2, May 2021
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Article Number | 20301 | |
| Number of page(s) | 9 | |
| Section | Thin Films | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/epjap/2021210068 | |
| Published online | 27 May 2021 | |
https://doi.org/10.1051/epjap/2021210068
Regular Article
Nanomechanical spectroscopy of ultrathin silicon nitride suspended membranes★
Centre for Nano Science and Engineering (CeNSE), Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru 560012, India
* e-mail: anaik@iisc.ac.in
Received:
23
March
2021
Accepted:
29
April
2021
Published online: 27 May 2021
Mechanical properties of a nanomechanical resonator significantly impact the performance of a resonant Nano-electromechanical system (NEMS) device. We study the mechanical properties of suspended membranes fabricated out of low-pressure chemical vapor deposited silicon nitride thin films. We fabricated doubly-clamped membranes of silicon nitride with thickness less than 50 nm and length varying from 5 to 60 μm. The elastic modulus and stress in the suspended membranes were measured using Atomic Force Microscope (AFM)-based nanomechanical spectroscopy. The elastic moduli of the suspended membranes are significantly higher than those of corresponding on-substrate thin films. We observed a reduction in net stress after the fabrication of suspended membrane, which is explained by estimating the thermal stress and intrinsic stress. We also use a mathematical model to study the stress and thickness-dependent elastic modulus of the ultrathin membranes. Lastly, we study the capillary force-gradient between the SiNx suspended membrane-Si substrate that could collapse the suspended membrane.
Note to the reader: Further to the publication of an erratum, the citation of the article was modified on 19 July 2021.
Supplementary material in the form of one pdf file available from the Journal web page at https://www.epjap.org/10.1051/epjap/2021210068/olm
© EDP Sciences, 2021
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