A novel method for in situ uniaxial tests at the micro/nanoscalepart II: Experiment

Here, we experimentally investigate the sources of misalignment during uniaxial test and their substantial influence on mechanical measurement of microspecimens. To avoid possible misalignment errors, we propose a novel MEMS-based uniaxial testing stage and a specimen design for measuring the mechanical response of material samples in situ in scanning electron microscope (SEM). The proposed stage and the specimen ensure uniaxiality of loading due to the introduction of hingelike self-aligning mechanisms both in the stage and in the specimen. Using the stage and the sample, we measure the elastic modulus of single-crystal silicon (SCS) within 99.5% of the known value. We also experimentally demonstrate that the bending strain due to any misalignment can be limited to within 1% of the average strain by using the proposed stage and specimen.