Highly reliable and efficient atomic force microscopy based bending test for assessing Young's modulus of one-dimensional nanomaterials

Abstract

A highly reliable and efficient mechanical characterization technique for one-dimensional nanomaterials was developed based on multi-position bending tests by atomic force microscope (AFM) on top-down fabricated suspended nanowires with double-clamped ends and appropriate theoretical analysis considering residual stress and substrate deformation. The reliability and efficiency of the technique were improved through the avoidance of sample manipulation, high sample comparability, precise experimental control, and more data for mechanics analysis. The AFM-based multi-position bending tests were conducted on gold nanowires with thicknesses of ∼90 nm, widths ranged from 180 nm to 340 nm, and suspension lengths ranged from 3.6 μm to 5.1 μm, showing good testing repeatability and data reliability. The evaluated Young's modulus for gold nanowires was 75.35 ± 6.60 GPa, which had a much smaller deviation compared to that of 72.06 ± 16.21 GPa reported in the literature.