Measurement of residual elastic strain in rolled-up amorphous nanomembranes using nanobeam electron diffraction

Abstract

Amorphous nanomembranes play a crucial role in flexible electronics due to their ability to create intricate 3D structures through strain engineering. To better understand the formation of these structures, accurately mapping the local elastic strain distribution is essential. In this study, we conducted position-sensitive nanobeam electron diffraction investigations on various rolled-up amorphous nanomembranes. By analyzing the diffraction rings obtained from different locations on the amorphous samples, we extracted anisotropic structure information in reciprocal space and determined the local strain distributions in real space. Our analysis revealed that particle-assisted dry-released samples exhibited higher strain values than pure amorphous samples. This suggests that nanoparticles introduce additional strain through dewetting effects, thereby facilitating the formation of self-rolling 3D structures.