Piezoresistivity characterization of silicon nanowires using a MEMS device

Author

Zhang, Yong ; Liu, Xinyu ; Ru, Changhai ; Zhang, Yanliang ; Dong, Lixin ; Woo, Patrick ; Nakamura, Mitsuhiro ; Hoyle, David ; Cotton, Ian ; Sun, Yu

Author_Institution

Univ. of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

fYear

2011

fDate

23-27 Jan. 2011

Firstpage

625

Lastpage

628

Abstract

This paper presents a MEMS device for simultaneous mechanical and electrical characterization of individual nanowires. The device consists of an electrostatic actuator and two capacitive sensors, enabling it to acquire all mechanical measurement data (force and displacement) electronically without relying on electron microscopy imaging. Electrical insulation within the suspended structures of the device enables two-point probe measurements of nanowires. A nanomanipulation procedure is developed to pick up a nanowire from its growth substrate and place it onto the MEMS device inside a scanning electron microscope. Piezoresistivity characterization of silicon nanowires is demonstrated.

Keywords

capacitive sensors; electrostatic actuators; insulation; mechanical properties; nanowires; piezoresistive devices; scanning electron microscopes; silicon; MEMS device; capacitive sensors; electrical characterization; electrical insulation; electrostatic actuator; mechanical characterization; mechanical measurement data; nanomanipulation procedure; piezoresistivity characterization; scanning electron microscope; silicon nanowires; two-point probe measurements; Actuators; Force; Micromechanical devices; Nanomaterials; Nanowires; Probes; Silicon;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS), 2011 IEEE 24th International Conference on

Conference_Location

Cancun

ISSN

1084-6999

Print_ISBN

978-1-4244-9632-7

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/MEMSYS.2011.5734502

Filename

5734502