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The Fracture Toughness of Polysilicon Microdevices: A First Report

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

R. Ballarini
Affiliation:
Department of Civil Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106–7201
R. L. Mullen
Affiliation:
Department of Civil Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106–7201
Y. Yin
Affiliation:
Department of Civil Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106–7201
H. Kahn
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106–7204
S. Stemmer
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106–7204
A. H. Heuer
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106–7204
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Abstract

Polysilicon microfracture specimens were fabricated using surface micromachining techniques identical to those used to fabricate microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices. The nominal critical J-integral (the critical energy release rate) for crack initiation, Jc, was determined in specimens whose characteristic dimensions were of the same order of magnitude as the grain size of the polysilicon. Jc values ranged from 16 to 62 N/m, approximately a factor of four larger than Jc values reported for single crystal silicon.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1997

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