Mechanics of patterned helical Si springs on Si substrate

The elastic response, including the spring constant, of individual Si helical-shape submicron springs, was measured using a tip-cantilever assembly attached to a conventional atomic force microscope. The isolated, four-turn Si springs were fabricated using oblique angle deposition with substrate rotation, also known as the glancing angle deposition, on a templated Si substrate. The response of the structures was modeled using finite elements, and it was shown that the conventional formulae for the spring constant required modifications before they could be used for the loading scheme used in the present experiment.