Mode-I fracture toughness studies were conducted on hydrogen-free tetrahedral amorphous diamond-like carbon (ta-C) MEMS specimens of various thicknesses. Mathematically sharp edge pre-cracks were generated through micro indentation on the Silicon dioxide sacrificial layer. An atomic force microscope (AFM) was employed to measure the precise length and orientation of each pre-crack. Upon wet etching and release the freestanding uniform width and varying thickness MEMS-scale specimens were tested in Mode-I using a custom-made micro-tensile tester. Fracture toughness values were computed from the test data using linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) for a finite width specimen with an edge crack in the fixed grip loading configuration. The average Mode-I fracture toughness for 0.5 micron thick specimens was found to be 4.25±0.7 MPa m while the average mode-I fracture toughness for 1 micron specimens was 4.4±0.4 MPa m .

Direct measurements of Mode-I critical stress intensity factor and crack tip displacements were conducted in the vicinity of atomically sharp edge cracks in polycrystalline silicon MEMS using our in situ Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)/Digital Image Correlation (DIC) method. The average Mode-I critical stress intensity factor for various fabrication runs was 1.00 ± 0.1 MPa√m. The experimental crack tip displacement fields were in very good agreement with linear elastic fracture mechanics solutions. By means of an AFM, direct experimental evidence of incremental crack growth in polycrystalline silicon was obtained for the first time via spatially resolved crack growth measurements. The incremental crack growth in brittle polysilicon is attributed to its locally anisotropic polycrystalline structure which also results in different local and macroscopic (apparent) stress intensity factors.