Fracture Origins in Miniature Silicon Carbide Structures

Abstract

Direct tension strength tests were conducted on chemical vapor deposited silicon carbide microspecimens. Three types of specimens were used: straight gage section, tapered gage section, and notched gage section. The average strengths and standards deviations were: 0.42 GPa ± 0.13 GPa; 0.47 GPa ± 0.16 GPa; and 0.68 GPa ± 0.19 GPa, respectively. The fracture origins were identified by fractographic analysis and were cracks in large grains next to surface grooves from the deep reactive ion etch (DRIE) process used to fabricate the specimens.