Silicon Nitride Fibers Using Micro Fabrication Methods

Abstract
Amorphous LPCVD and PECVD Si3N4films have been patterned into fibers of various shapes using integrated circuit methods. A tensile test apparatus was developed which allows a simultaneous testing of up to 20 fibers. The average tensile strength of LPCVD Si3N4fibers with a 30 μm gauge section was 7.0 ± 0.4 GPa. The corresponding value for PECVD Si3N4was 2.4 ± 0.2 GPa. The following properties of the materials were measured: atomic composition (RBS, FRES), density, refractive index, internal stress, elastic modulus and micro hardness. A Weibull analysis of the tensile strength values was performed.