Ultra-thin free-standing single crystalline silicon membranes with strain control

Andrey Shchepetov, Mika Prunnila, F. Alzina, L. Schneider, J. Cuffe, H. Jiang, E.I. Kauppinen, C.M. Sotomayor Torres, Jouni Ahopelto (Corresponding Author)

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

    58 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    We report on fabrication and characterization of ultra-thin suspended single crystalline flat silicon membranes with thickness down to 6 nm. We have developed a method to control the strain in the membranes by adding a strain compensating frame on the silicon membrane perimeter to avoid buckling after the release. We show that by changing the properties of the frame the strain of the membrane can be tuned in controlled manner. Consequently, both the mechanical properties and the band structure can be engineered, and the resulting membranes provide a unique laboratory to study low-dimensional electronic, photonic, and phononic phenomena.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)192108-192111
    JournalApplied Physics Letters
    Volume102
    Issue number19
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2013
    MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

    Keywords

    • band structure
    • buckling
    • elemental semiconductors
    • semiconductor thin films
    • silicon
    • strain control

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