TY - JOUR
T1 - High-Strength Amorphous Silicon Carbide for Nanomechanics
AU - Xu, Minxing
AU - Shin, Dongil
AU - Sberna, Paolo M.
AU - van der Kolk, Roald
AU - Cupertino, Andrea
AU - Bessa, Miguel A.
AU - Norte, Richard A.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - For decades, mechanical resonators with high sensitivity have been realized using thin-film materials under high tensile loads. Although there are remarkable strides in achieving low-dissipation mechanical sensors by utilizing high tensile stress, the performance of even the best strategy is limited by the tensile fracture strength of the resonator materials. In this study, a wafer-scale amorphous thin film is uncovered, which has the highest ultimate tensile strength ever measured for a nanostructured amorphous material. This silicon carbide (SiC) material exhibits an ultimate tensile strength of over 10 GPa, reaching the regime reserved for strong crystalline materials and approaching levels experimentally shown in graphene nanoribbons. Amorphous SiC strings with high aspect ratios are fabricated, with mechanical modes exceeding quality factors 108 at room temperature, the highest value achieves among SiC resonators. These performances are demonstrated faithfully after characterizing the mechanical properties of the thin film using the resonance behaviors of free-standing resonators. This robust thin-film material has significant potential for applications in nanomechanical sensors, solar cells, biological applications, space exploration, and other areas requiring strength and stability in dynamic environments. The findings of this study open up new possibilities for the use of amorphous thin-film materials in high-performance applications.
AB - For decades, mechanical resonators with high sensitivity have been realized using thin-film materials under high tensile loads. Although there are remarkable strides in achieving low-dissipation mechanical sensors by utilizing high tensile stress, the performance of even the best strategy is limited by the tensile fracture strength of the resonator materials. In this study, a wafer-scale amorphous thin film is uncovered, which has the highest ultimate tensile strength ever measured for a nanostructured amorphous material. This silicon carbide (SiC) material exhibits an ultimate tensile strength of over 10 GPa, reaching the regime reserved for strong crystalline materials and approaching levels experimentally shown in graphene nanoribbons. Amorphous SiC strings with high aspect ratios are fabricated, with mechanical modes exceeding quality factors 108 at room temperature, the highest value achieves among SiC resonators. These performances are demonstrated faithfully after characterizing the mechanical properties of the thin film using the resonance behaviors of free-standing resonators. This robust thin-film material has significant potential for applications in nanomechanical sensors, solar cells, biological applications, space exploration, and other areas requiring strength and stability in dynamic environments. The findings of this study open up new possibilities for the use of amorphous thin-film materials in high-performance applications.
KW - amorphous silicon carbide
KW - high mechanical quality factor
KW - ultimate tensile strength
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85178187420&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/adma.202306513
DO - 10.1002/adma.202306513
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85178187420
SN - 0935-9648
VL - 36
JO - Advanced Materials
JF - Advanced Materials
IS - 5
M1 - 2306513
ER -