An electromechanical material testing system for in situ electron microscopy and applications

作者：Yong Ping Zhu, Horacio Dante Espinosa · 发表于：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 年份：2005 · DOI：10.1073/pnas.0506544102 · 被引用次数：356 · 研究领域：Force Microscopy Techniques and Applications、Mechanical and Optical Resonators、Carbon Nanotubes in Composites

We report the development of a material testing system for in situ electron microscopy (EM) mechanical testing of nanostructures. The testing system consists of an actuator and a load sensor fabricated by means of surface micromachining. This previously undescribed nanoscale material testing system makes possible continuous observation of the specimen deformation and failure with subnanometer resolution, while simultaneously measuring the applied load electronically with nanonewton resolution. This achievement was made possible by the integration of electromechanical and thermomechanical components based on microelectromechanical system technology. The system capabilities are demonstrated by the in situ EM testing of free-standing polysilicon films, metallic nanowires, and carbon nanotubes. In particular, a previously undescribed real-time instrumented in situ transmission EM observation of carbon nanotubes failure under tensile load is presented here.