Open AccessJournal Article
Silicon as a mechanical material
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In this article, the advantages of employing silicon as a mechanical material, the relevant mechanical characteristics of silicon, and the processing techniques which are specific to micromechanical structures are discussed.Abstract:
Single-crystal silicon is being increasingly employed in a variety of new commercial products not because of its well-established electronic properties, but rather because of its excellent mechanical properties. In addition, recent trends in the engineering literature indicate a growing interest in the use of silicon as a mechanical material with the ultimate goal of developing a broad range of inexpensive, batch-fabricated, high-performance sensors and transducers which are easily interfaced with the rapidly proliferating microprocessor. This review describes the advantages of employing silicon as a mechanical material, the relevant mechanical characteristics of silicon, and the processing techniques which are specific to micromechanical structures. Finally, the potentials of this new technology are illustrated by numerous detailed examples from the literature. It is clear that silicon will continue to be aggressively exploited in a wide variety of mechanical applications complementary to its traditional role as an electronic material. Furthermore, these multidisciplinary uses of silicon will significantly alter the way we think about all types of miniature mechanical devices and components.read more
Citations
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References
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Journal ArticleDOI
High-performance heat sinking for VLSI
TL;DR: In this paper, a water-cooled integral heat sink for silicon integrated circuits has been designed and tested at a power density of 790 W/cm2, with a maximum substrate temperature rise of 71°C above the input water temperature.
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Formulas for Stress and Strain
TL;DR: In this article, the authors propose formulas for stress and strain in the form of formulas for strain and stress, which are derived from the formula for stress-and-stress and strain.
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A gas chromatographic air analyzer fabricated on a silicon wafer
TL;DR: In this article, a miniature gas analysis system based on the principles of gas chromatography (GC) has been built in silicon using photolithography and chemical etching techniques, which allows size reductions of nearly three orders of magnitude compared to conventional laboratory instruments.
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The resonant gate transistor
TL;DR: In this paper, the resonant gate transistor (RGT) is described as an electrostatically excited tuning fork employing field effect transistor readout, which can be batch-fabricated in a manner consistent with silicon technology.
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Electrolytic shaping of germanium and silicon
TL;DR: In this article, the properties of electrolyte-semiconductor barriers are described, with emphasis on germanium, and the use of these barriers in localizing electrolytic etching is discussed.