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Observation of a water strider led to a new method of measuring properties of Nano films​
View : 7068 Date : 2013-11-11 Writer : ed_news

Even the mechanical properties of Nano films of a few nanometers thick can be measured
Posted online Nature Communications on the 3rd of October

The joint research team of KAIST’s Department of Mechanical Engineering’s Professor Taek-Soo Kim and Doctor Seung-Min Hyun of the Nano mechanics laboratory of Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials has developed a new method to evaluate mechanical properties of Nano films using the characteristics of water surfaces.

The research findings have been posted on the online edition of Nature Communications on the 3rd of October. The technology can obtain accurate results by directly measuring the mechanical properties such as the strength and elasticity of Nano films. Academia and the industry expect the simplicity of the technology to present a new paradigm in the evaluation of mechanical properties of Nano films.

Evaluation of the mechanical properties of Nano films is essential not only in predicting the reliability of semiconductors and displays, but also in finding new phenomena in the Nano world. However, mechanical strength was difficult to test since the test demands the falling of objects to the ground to measure their strength, and nano films can easily break in the process. 

The research team observed insects such as water striders freely floating on the surface of the water. The team used the properties of water, large surface tension and low viscosity, to float a 55 nanometers (nm) gold Nano film to successfully measure its mechanical properties without damaging it. The technology could be used to measure the mechanical properties of not only various types of Nano films but also films only a few nm thick.

Professor Taek-Soo Kim said, “We effectively performed an evaluation of the mechanical characteristics of Nano films, which was difficult in the past, by developing a new strength test using the properties of water.” He continued to say, “The team plans to discover the mechanical properties of 2D Nano films such as graphene that could not have been measured with the existing strength test methods.”

The research by KAIST’s Department of Mechanical Engineering’s graduate student Jae-Han Kim (lead author) under the supervision of Professor Taek-Soo Kim and Doctor Seung-Min Hyun of Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials was sponsored by the National Research Foundation of Korea.

Evaluation process of mechanical properties of Nano films by using the characteristics of water surfaces


Dr Seung-Min Hyun, Jae-Han Kim, and Professor Taek-Soo Kim from left to right 

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