Micromechanical Devices for Characterization of One-Dimensional Nanomaterials
- Detailed Technology Description
- A device measuring the mechanical properties of nanomaterials within a SEM or TEM.
- *Abstract
-
Technology
The invention is a micro-machined device that can be used, in conjunction with a quantitative nanoindenter, to perform ex situ or in situ nano-mechanical testing experiments within an SEM or TEM chamber. The device, and the technique in general, can perform nano-mechanical characterization of 1-dimensional and 2-dimensional nanomaterials
Advantages
Most current techniques in nanomaterial mechanical characterization are unable to simultaneously image a specimen and independently measure load and deformation with sufficient resolution. This capability enables researchers to accurately characterize the mechanical properties of nanomaterials, such as metallic nanowires, carbon nanotubes, and nanocomposites. The current techniques that have this capability involve a complicated setup. The system is purely mechanical, as opposed to existing techniques that involve electro-mechanical or thermo-mechanical coupling. The simple device design leads to fewer sources of errors, and use of a quantitative nanoindenter ensures reliable results with a sufficiently high resolution.
Potential Applications
This device has applications in nanomaterials research and is capable of performing the following experiments.- in situ and ex situ tensile testing on 1-D nano-scale building blocks (i.e. metallic nanowires, carbon nanotubes)
- pullout experiments on nanocomposites
- nano-scale fatigue and creep testing
The Inventors
Jun Lou is an ECE Assistant Professor at Rice University.
Yang Lu is an ECE grad student at Rice University.
Yogeeswaran Ganesan is an ECE grad student at Rice University.
Availability
This technology is available for license from Rice University. A utility patent (12/607,550) has been filed with the USPTO.
InquiriesNila Bhakuni
713-348-6231
bhakuni@rice.edu
- Country/Region
- USA
