Nanomechanical testing of circular freestanding polymer films with sub-micron thickness
- Nano-Innovation Center, MTS Instruments, Oak Ridge, TN 37830 (United States)
- Structural and Solid Mechanics Group, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904 (United States) and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904 (United States)
This paper describes techniques to create freestanding films over perfectly circular spans (windows) and measure their mechanical properties using instrumented nanoindentation. Test samples were created by spin-casting polymer films over glass plates with embedded fibers, which were subsequently etched using a relatively weak acid to leave freestanding circular spans. The freestanding spans were tested using an instrumented nanoindenter over a wide range of applied loads and displacements. Material properties can be extracted from measured load-deflection responses using straightforward models for point-loads on circular plates or membranes. Results are presented for poly(methyl methacrylate) and poly(2,6,dimethyl,1,4,phenylene ether) films with thickness ranging from 350 to 750 nm. The properties derived from freestanding tests are compared with traditional nanoindentation of films on intact substrates. The freestanding approach has key advantages for characterizing micron-scale behavior of compliant materials, notably greater ease and applicability of sample preparation over other micro-fabrication techniques and straightforward analytical or numerical models.
- OSTI ID:
- 20634799
- Journal Information:
- Acta Materialia, Vol. 52, Issue 19; Other Information: DOI: 10.1016/j.actamat.2004.07.041; PII: S1359-6454(04)00461-6; Copyright (c) 2004 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1359-6454
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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