Simultaneous characterization of mechanical and electrical properties of nanowire using MEMS device

This paper presents an experimental method for characterizing mechanical properties and electrical properties of nanowire simultaneously, by performing in-situ tensile test on nanowre using MEMS actuator in SEM. Mechanical properties such as Young´s modulus, fracture strengh and electrical property such as current-voltage characteristic have been obtained for Cu nanowire and SiC nanowire using this method. Smaller Young´s modulus is found in both nanowires due to the imperfection in crystallization. Nonlinear and linear I-V curves are revealed for Cu nanowire and SiC nanowire, respectively. Furthermore, SiC nanowire exhibits significant piezoresistive effect under low stress level, and possible explanations has been discussed.