Mechanics of lithographically defined break junctions

We investigate the mechanics of lithographically defined mechanically controllable break junctions, both theoretically and experimentally. It is shown that the relationship between controlled deflection and junction opening depends on the details of the break junction geometry. As a result the generally used formula for the “attenuation factor” $r$ needs to be corrected by a factor $\zeta$. For typical break junction geometries, we obtain $2\lesssim \zeta \lesssim 4$.