Temperature effect on elastic modulus of thin films and nanocrystals

The stability of nanoscale devices is directly related to elasticity and the effect of temperature on the elasticity of thin films and nanocrystals. The elastic instability induced by rising temperature will cause the failure of integrated circuits and other microelectronic devices in service. The temperature effect on the elastic modulus of thin films and nanocrystals is unclear although the temperature dependence of the modulus of bulk materials has been studied for over half a century. In this paper, a theoretical model of the temperature-dependent elastic modulus of thin films and nanocrystals is developed based on the physical definition of the modulus by considering the size effect of the related cohesive energy and the thermal expansion coefficient. Moreover, the temperature effect on the modulus of Cu thin films is simulated by the molecular dynamics method. The results indicate that the elastic modulus decreases with increasing temperature and the rate of the modulus decrease increases with reducing thickness of thin films. The theoretical predictions based on the model are consistent with the results of computational simulations, semi-continuum calculations and the experimental measurements for Cu, Si thin films and Pd nanocrystals.     

Mechanical properties of silicon nanobeams with undercut evaluated by combining dynamic resonance test and finite element analysis

Mechanical properties of silicon nanobeams are of prime importance in nanoelectromechanical system applications. A numerical experimental method of determining resonant frequencies and Young's modulus of nanobeams by combining finite element analysis and frequency response tests based on an electrostatic excitation and visual detection by laser Doppler vibrometer is presented in this paper. Silicon nanobeams test structures are fabricated from silicon-on-insulator wafers by using a standard lithography and anisotropic wet etching release process, which inevitably generates the undercut of the nanobeam clamping. In conjunction with three-dimensional finite element numerical simulations incorporating the geometric undercut, dynamic resonance tests reveal that the undercut significantly reduces resonant frequencies of nanobeams due to the fact that it effectively increases the nanobeam length by a correct value Δ L, which is a key parameter that is correlated with deviations in the resonant frequencies predicted from the ideal Euler-Bernoulli beam theory and experimentally measured data. By using a least-square fit expression including Δ L, we finally extract Young's modulus from the measured resonance frequency versus effective length dependency and find that Young's modulus of silicon nanobeam with 200-nm thickness is close to that of bulk silicon. This result supports that the finite size effect due to surface effect does not play a role in mechanical elastic behaviour of silicon nanobeams with the thickness larger than 200 nm.     

Mechanical properties of silicon nanobeams with an undercut evaluated by combining the dynamic resonance test and finite element analysis

Mechanical properties of silicon nanobeams are of prime importance in nanoelectromechanical system applications.A numerical experimental method of determining resonant frequencies and Young’s modulus of nanobeams by combining finite element analysis and frequency response tests based on an electrostatic excitation and visual detection by using a laser Doppler vibrometer is presented in this paper.Silicon nanobeam test structures are fabricated from silicon-oninsulator wafers by using a standard lithography and anisotropic wet etching release process,which inevitably generates the undercut of the nanobeam clamping.In conjunction with three-dimensional finite element numerical simulations incorporating the geometric undercut,dynamic resonance tests reveal that the undercut significantly reduces resonant frequencies of nanobeams due to the fact that it effectively increases the nanobeam length by a correct value △L,which is a key parameter that is correlated with deviations in the resonant frequencies predicted from the ideal Euler-Bernoulli beam theory and experimentally measured data.By using a least-square fit expression including △L,we finally extract Young’s modulus from the measured resonance frequency versus effective length dependency and find that Young’s modulus of a silicon nanobeam with 200-nm thickness is close to that of bulk silicon.This result supports that the finite size effect due to the surface effect does not play a role in the mechanical elastic behaviour of silicon nanobeams with thickness larger than 200 nm.     

Size dependence of Young's modulus in ZnO nanowires

We report a size dependence of Young's modulus in [0001] oriented ZnO nanowires (NWs) with diameters ranging from 17 to 550 nm for the first time. The measured modulus for NWs with diameters smaller than about 120 nm is increasing dramatically with the decreasing diameters, and is significantly higher than that of the larger ones whose modulus tends to that of bulk ZnO. A core-shell composite NW model in terms of the surface stiffening effect correlated with significant bond length contractions occurred near the {1010} free surfaces (which extend several layers deep into the bulk and fade off slowly) is proposed to explore the origin of the size dependence, and present experimental result is well explained. Furthermore, it is possible to estimate the size-related elastic properties of GaN nanotubes and relative nanostructures by using this model.     

Effect of surface layer thickness on buckling and vibration of nonlocal nanowires

In this Letter, the buckling and vibration behavior of nonlocal nanowires by incorporating surface elasticity is investigated. A modified core–shell model is developed to depict the size effect of Youngʼs modulus and validated by the reported experimental data. Our results show that the buckling load and natural frequency of nanowires increase when the effect of surface layer thickness is taken into account. Moreover, as the diameter of nanowires is smaller than 50 nm, the influence of surface layer thickness becomes obvious. This work can be helpful in characterizing and predicting the buckling and vibration behavior of NWs.     

Analytical modeling for the determination of nonlocal resonance frequencies of perforated nanobeams subjected to temperature-induced loads

This paper is concerned with the investigation of thermal loads and small scale effects on free dynamics vibration of slender simply-supported nanobeams perforated with periodic square holes network and subjected to temperature-induced loads. The Euler–Bernoulli beam model (EBM) and shear beam model (SBM) developed for the determination of resonance frequency are derived by modifying the standard Timoshenko beam equations. The small scale effect is included by using the Eringen's nonlocal elasticity theory while the thermal loads effect is included by considering the additional axial thermal force in the standard differential equations. Numerical results are shown that the resonance frequency change, the thermal loads and the small scale effects are depended on size and number of holes. Thus, numerical results are discussed in detail for a properly investigation of the dynamic behavior of perforated nanobeams which are of interest in the development of resonant devices integrated in micro/nanoelectromichanical systems (M(N)EMS).     

Propagation of waves in nonlocal porous multi-phase nanocrystalline nanobeams under longitudinal magnetic field

ABSTRACT

This article investigates wave propagation behavior of a multi-phase nanocrystalline nanobeam subjected to a longitudinal magnetic field in the framework of nonlocal couple stress and surface elasticity theories. In this model, the essential measures to describe the real material structure of nanocrystalline nanobeams and the size effects were incorporated. This non-classical nanobeam model contains couple stress effect to capture grains micro-rotations. Moreover, the nonlocal elasticity theory is employed to study the nonlocal and long-range interactions between the particles. The present model can degenerate into the classical model if the nonlocal parameter, couple stress and surface effects are omitted. Hamilton’s principle is employed to derive the governing equations which are solved by applying an analytical method. The frequencies are compared with those of nonlocal and couple stress-based beams. It is showed that wave frequencies and phase velocities of a nanocrystalline nanobeam depend on the grain size, grain rotations, porosities, interface, magnetic field, surface effect and nonlocality.     

Elastic strain response in the modified phase-field-crystal model

To understand and develop new nanostructure materials with specific mechanical properties, a good knowledge of the elastic strain response is mandatory. Here we investigate the linear elasticity response in the modified phase-field-crystal(MPFC) model. The results show that two different propagation modes control the elastic interaction length and time, which determine whether the density waves can propagate or not. By quantitatively calculating the strain field, we find that the strain distribution is indeed extremely uniform in case of elasticity. Further, we present a detailed theoretical analysis for the orientation dependence and temperature dependence of shear modulus. The simulation results show that the shear modulus reveals strong anisotropy and the one-mode analysis provides a good guideline for determining elastic shear constants until the system temperature falls below a certain value.     

Free vibration of non-uniform nanobeams using Rayleigh–Ritz method

In this article, boundary characteristic orthogonal polynomials have been implemented in the Rayleigh–Ritz method to investigate free vibration of non-uniform Euler–Bernoulli nanobeams based on nonlocal elasticity theory. Non-uniform cross section of nanobeams has been considered by taking linear as well as quadratic variations of Young's modulus and density along the space coordinate. Detailed analysis has been reported for all the possible cases of such variations. The objective of the present study is to analyze the effects of nonlocal parameter, boundary condition, length-to-diameter ratio and non-uniform parameter on the frequency parameters. It is found that clamped nanobeams are having highest frequency parameters than other types of boundary conditions for a particular set of parameters. It is also observed that frequency parameters decrease with increase in scaling effect parameter. First four deflection shapes of non-uniform nanobeams have also been incorporated. In this analysis, some of the new results in terms of boundary conditions have also been included.     

Multiscale modeling of the effect of carbon nanotube orientation on the shear deformation properties of reinforced polymer-based composites

A combination of molecular dynamics (MD), continuum elasticity and FEM is used to predict the effect of CNT orientation on the shear modulus of SWCNT-polymer nanocomposites. We first develop a transverse-isotropic elastic model of SWCNTs based on the continuum elasticity and MD to compute the transverse-isotropic elastic constants of SWCNTs. These constants are then used in an FEM-based simulation to investigate the effect of SWCNT alignment on the shear modulus of nanocomposites. Furthermore, shear stress distributions along the nanotube axis and over its cross-sectional area are investigated to study the effect of CNT orientation on the shear load transfer.     

Dynamic characteristics of curved nanobeams using nonlocal higher-order curved beam theory

Here, an analytical approach for the dynamic analysis, viz., free and forced vibrations, of curved nanobeams using nonlocal elasticity beam theory based on Eringen formulation coupled with a higher-order shear deformation accounting for through thickness stretching is investigated. The formulation is general in the sense that it can be deduced to analyse the effect of various structural theories pertaining to curved nanobeams. It also includes inplane, rotary and coupling inertia terms. The governing equations derived, using Hamiltons principle, are solved in conjunction with Naviers solutions. The free vibration results are obtained employing the standard eigenvalue analysis whereas the displacement/stress responses in time domain for the curved nanobeams subjected to rectangular pulse loading are evaluated based on Newmarks time integration scheme. The formulation is validated considering problems for which solutions are available. A comparative study is done here by different theories obtained through the formulation. The effects of various structural parameters such as thickness ratio, beam length, rise of the curved beam, loading pulse duration, and nonlocal scale parameter are brought out on the dynamic behaviours of curved nanobeams.     

On mechanical characteristics of nanocrystals

The dependence of the elastic moduli of a nanocrystal on its size is investigated theoretically with reference to a two-dimensional single-crystal strip. It is shown that the uncertainty (of a fundamental nature) in the size of a nanocrystal causes the determination of many of its mechanical characteristics to be ambiguous. It is found that the Cauchy-Green relations are modified and the elastic-constant tensor ceases to be symmetric; the size and shape of a nanocrystal render its mechanical properties more anisotropic. For a single-crystal strip, the Poisson ratio decreases and the Young modulus increases with decreasing thickness of the strip; in the case of a very thin crystal film (two atomic layers thick), these elastic moduli can differ from their macroscopic values by a factor of two. The size effects which make the continuum elasticity theory inapplicable to nanocrystals are estimated. The size effects that occur when the molecular dynamics method is applied for modeling macroscopic objects are also discussed.     

Elastic properties of diamond,silicon, and germanium nanocrystals as functions of their size and shape

The dependence of elastic modulus B on the size (number of atoms (N)) and the shape of a nanocrystal of a simple monoatomic substance is studied when the nanocrystal is considered as a rectangular parallelepiped with a varied surface shape. The elastic modulus is shown to decrease during an isomorphic-isothermal decrease of the nanocrystal size. At low temperatures, the B(N) dependence is less pronounced, and the case where the B(N) function increases during an isomorphic-isothermal decrease of the nanocrystal size is possible here. The size dependences of the elastic modulus, Poisson ratio μ, Young’s modulus Y, shear modulus G, and lattice parameter compression are calculated for diamond, Si, and Ge. It is shown that B, Y, and G decrease and μ increases during an isomorphic-isothermal decrease of the nanocrystal size. The surface pressure compresses a nanocrystal at low temperatures and expands it at high temperatures. The larger the deviation of the nanocrystal shape from the most energetically favorable shape, the more pronounced the changes of these functions during an isothermal decrease of the nanocrystal size.     

Effects of surface and interface energies on the bending behavior of nanoscale multilayered beams

A modified continuum model of the nanoscale multilayered beams is established by incorporating surface and interface energies. Through the principle of minimum potential energy, the governing equations and boundary conditions are obtained. The closed-form solutions are presented and the overall Young's modulus of the beam is studied. The surface and interface energies are found to have a major influence on the bending behavior and the overall Young's modulus of the beam. The effect of surface and interface energies on the overall Young's modulus depends on the boundary condition of the beam, the values of the surface/interface elasticity constants and the initial surface/interface energy of the system. The results can be used to guide the determinations of the surface/interface elasticity properties and the initial surface/interface energies of the nanoscale multilayered materials through nanoscale beam bending experiments.     

Scale-dependent effects on wave propagation in magnetically affected single/double-layered compositionally graded nanosize beams

This article deals with the wave propagation analysis of single/double layered functionally graded (FG) size-dependent nanobeams in elastic medium and subjected to a longitudinal magnetic field employing nonlocal elasticity theory. Material properties of nanobeam change gradually according to the sigmoid function. Applying an analytical solution, the acoustical and optical dispersion relations are explored for various wave number, nonlocality parameter, material composition, elastic foundation constants, and magnetic field intensity. It is found that frequency and phase velocity of waves propagating in S-FGM nanobeam are significantly affected by these parameters. Also, presence of cut-off and escape frequencies in wave propagation analysis of embedded S-FGM nanobeams is investigated.     

金属纳米线弹性性能的尺寸效应及其内在机理的模拟研究

本文应用分子动力学(MD)方法和改进分析型嵌入原子模型(MAEAM)研究了Ni, Al和V纳米线的弹性性能尺寸效应及表面对其影响, 并计算了相应完整晶格材料的弹性性能. 结果表明本文计算完整晶格材料的弹性性能与已有实验和理论的结果相符合. 而计算所得各金属纳米线的体模量明显低于相应块体材料的结果, 且随纳米线的尺寸增加而呈指数增加, 并接近于常数. 在此基础上, 通过研究Ni, Al和V纳米线表面能的尺寸效应及其分布特征进一步探讨了自由表面在尺寸影响纳米线弹性性能过程中的作用及其内在机理.     

Length scales at which classical elasticity breaks down for various materials

At what characteristic length scale does classical continuum elasticity cease to accurately describe small deformation mechanical behavior? The two dominant physical mechanisms that lead to size dependency of elastic behavior at the nanoscale are surface energy effects and nonlocal interactions. The latter arises due to the discrete structure of matter and the fluctuations in the interatomic forces that are smeared out within the phenomenological elastic modulus at coarser sizes. While surface energy effects have been well characterized in the literature, little is known about the length scales at which nonlocal effects manifest for different materials. Using a combination of empirical molecular dynamics and lattice dynamics (empirical and ab initio), we provide estimates of nonlocal elasticity length scales for various classes of materials: semiconductors, metals, amorphous solids, and polymers.     

Nanoindentation of gold nanoparticles functionalized with proteins

The hardness and Young's modulus of 10 and 20 nm gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) modified with bovine serum albumin and streptavidin were measured using a nanoindenter. The Au NPs were immobilized on a semiconductor surface through organic self-assembled monolayers. Changes in mechanical properties occurred when the Au NPs were immobilized on the surface. The hardness and Young's modulus were dependent on the size of the NPs, and the proteins on the particles showed highly plastic and elastic behavior compared to flat surfaces modified with self-assembled monolayers.     

Effect of interface/surface stress on the elastic wave band structure of two-dimensional phononic crystals

In the present Letter, the multiple scattering theory (MST) for calculating the elastic wave band structure of two-dimensional phononic crystals (PCs) is extended to include the interface/surface stress effect at the nanoscale. The interface/surface elasticity theory is employed to describe the nonclassical boundary conditions at the interface/surface and the elastic Mie scattering matrix embodying the interface/surface stress effect is derived. Using this extended MST, the authors investigate the interface/surface stress effect on the elastic wave band structure of two-dimensional PCs, which is demonstrated to be significant when the characteristic size reduces to nanometers.