Micro tensile-test system fabricated on a single crystal silicon chip

We have developed a uniaxial tensile test structure on a single crystal silicon chip. This enables tensile testing of MEMS materials, such as bulk silicon and thin film materials, to be carried out directly on the chip without manipulating a small specimen during the test procedure as in previous work. The structure was designed so that uniaxial force is applied to the specimen when a lever structure on the same chip is loaded perpendicular to the surface. The chip was fabricated on a (100) silicon wafer using chemical anisotropic etching.