NANOSCALE RELIABILITY GROUP (653.05): Develops new measurement methods for predicting materials reliability when material and device dimensions are constrained at the micro- and nanoscale. Provides instrumentation, test structures, and models for evaluating the critical parameters leading to material failure, including defects, interfaces, and local variations in material properties, as well new techniques for directly evaluating reliability of thin films and nanostructures.
AFM-Based Nanomechanics—Our goal is to provide tools for nanotechnology research and development that rapidly and nondestructively map the nanoscale mechanical properties of new materials and devices. Measuring localized …
Thin Film and Interconnect Reliability—Our goal is to develop new ways to evaluate the reliability of thin films and interconnects in their as-manufactured states. Such tests are particularly important for nanoscale structures, where …
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- Several years' worth of key developments targeting the measurement of mechanical properties of small-scale structures were summarized in a chapter for the book Micro and Nano Mechanical Testing of Materials and Devices (F. Yang and J. C. M. Li, Eds., Springer Science+Business Media, LLC). Chapter 12, entitled “Metrologies for Mechanical Response of Micro- and Nanoscale Systems,” by R. R. Keller, D. C. Hurley, D. T. Read, and P. Rice, describes the development of three measurement methods (contact-resonance AFM, microtensile testing, electrically-induced joule heating) developed by the group that are inherently sensitive to small volumes of matter (one or more dimensions less than 1 micrometer, and often in the range 10 nanometers to 100 nanometers).
- A NIST-NSF-University of Colorado workshop, "Materials Characterization for Nanoscale Reliability," was held on August 14-16, 2007. The objective was to identify specific characterization-related needs in a format to be used by NIST and academic researchers for developing characterization, modeling, and analysis techniques critical for continued advancements in the applications of nanomaterials.
- A desktop-computer-based approach to simulating the reliability of nanostructured materials has been developed. This advance is a first step on the path to enabling industry to take full advantage of the extreme properties offered by some nanostructured materials, without requiring the often exorbitant costs associated with conventional design, prototype manufacture, destructive qualification testing, and re-work.
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