Nanomechanical Traceable Metrology of Vertically Aligned Silicon and Germanium Nanowires by Nanoindentation

Abstract

Silicon and germanium pillar structures (i.e., micro- and nanowires) were fabricated by a top-down approach including nanoimprint lithography and cryogenic dry etching. Various etching parameters were tested to ensure a reliable fabrication process. The impression of nanomechanical properties of such 3-D structures were extracted experimentally by nanoindentation showing promising and comparative results to utilize such nanostructures as small force artefacts.

Keywords

• nanoindentation
• stiffness
• nanoimprint lithography
• nanowires
• dry etching
• cryogenic