Possibility of cemented carbide as structural material for MEMS

We discuss the possibility of WC-Co cemented carbide as structural material in MEMS. The cemented carbide is typically used as material for working tool because it has superior characteristics, such as very high Young's modulus, excellent rigidity, good chemical inertness, and good thermal stability. These are also attractive for mechanical elements in MEMS. We investigate the influences of specimen size and WC-Co composition ratio on mechanical properties of FIB-fabricated WC-Co cemented carbide nanowires by means of on-chip uniaxial tensile testing in FE-SEM. It is presented that Co binder size dependency on the Young's modulus and fracture strength has been obtained.