Fracture Strength Measurement of Single Crystal Silicon Chips as a Function of Loading Rate during 3-Point Bending Test

摘要

The present article shows how the fracture strength of single crystal silicon chips, which are generally used as semiconductor devices, is influenced by loading rate variation during a 3-point bending test. It was found that the fracture strength of the silicon chips slightly increases up to 4% with increasing loading rate for loading rates lower than 20 mm/min. Meanwhile, the fracture strength of the chips hardly increases with increase of loading rate to levels higher than 40 mm/min. However, there was an abrupt transition in the fracture strength within a loading rate range of 20 mm/min to 40 mm/min. This work explains through microscopic examination of the fracture surface of all test chips that such a big transition is related to the deflection of crack propagation direction from the (011) [100] system to the (111) [211] system in a particular loading rate (i.e. from 20 mm/min to 40 mm/min).