Abstract
Abstract This paper describes the effects of specimen size and temperature on mechanical properties of nano-scale silicon dioxide (SiO2) wires at elevated temperatures. Mechanical characterization of the nano-scale fixed–fixed SiO2 wires was carried out by a quasi-static bending test under an atomic force microscope at temperatures ranging from 295 to 573 K in high vacuum. The SiO2 wires had upper widths of 230–800 nm and a thickness of 410 nm, and were prepared by thermal oxidation of nano-scale single crystal silicon (SCS) wires. All of the SiO2 wires showed a linear relationship between bending force and displacement until failure, and they fractured in a brittle manner. Elastic moduli of the wires depended only on the test temperature. However, fracture stress was influenced by not only temperature but also specimen size. As compared with nano-scale SCS wires of the same specimen size, the SiO2 wires exhibited much higher fracture strain. AFM observations also revealed that the maximum peak-to-valley distance of the top surface of the SiO2 wires dominated the fracture stress.
Published Version
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