A nano-cantilever method for crack initiation at the free edge of the Cu/Si interface in nanoscale components

Straight and Bent nano-cantilever specimens are respectively proposed to investigate the single-mode and mixed-mode crack initiation at the Cu/Si interface edge in nanoscale components. With a minute loading apparatus, all nanoscale samples are in situ loaded and observed. Numerical analysis is employed to acquire the critical interfacial stress distributions during crack initiation. The stress concentration regions near the edge of Cu/Si interface in all specimens are within the scale of 100 nm, and the critical normal and shear stresses have a circular relation in nanoscale components, which represents the fracture criterion of the interface in nanoscale components.