Microfabrication and mechanical characterization of suspended carbon microstructures

Carbon structures, in micro- or nano-scale, have spread around with widespread interest due to their potential applications in medical devices, sensor applications and microelectronics. This work highlights the successful fabrication of suspended carbon-micro and nano electromechanical systems (C-MEMS/NEMS) by UV/EB lithography and pyrolysis method. The mechanical property of these suspended structures is also investigated with nanoindentation method. Our starting material is a negative photoresist, SU-8. We solve charging problem by forming a thin metal layer before electron beam (EB) writing using various methods, such as EB evaporation, sputtering system, and thermal evaporation. By partly depositing a thin layer of a metal to prevent the repelling of negative charged electrons, we have successfully formed various suspended carbon structures, such as bridges and networks. Young's modulus for a range of load values is calculated and detailed.