To our knowledge, no previous work has been done to evaluate the mechanical properties of polymer-mairix nanocomposites for MEMS application. The present work shows that the mechanical properties of polymer-matrix nanocomposites reinforced by SWNT are comparable with those of traditional engineering composites. It is worm noting that size of the reinforcement phase of traditional composites is typically larger than the structural scales of microdevices. This, coupled with the potential ease of micromachining polymer-matrix composites, the ability to tailor the biocompatibility of polymeric surfaces, and more importantly the possibility of manufacturing them at the scales suitable for microdevices, suggests that nanotube-reinforced polymers will be useful for a wide range of MEMS applications. These implications will be discussed using specific structural examples.
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