Stencil Mask Methodology for Parallelized Production of Microscale Mechanical Test Samples

Over the past decade, there has been considerable progress in the development of new mechanical testing methods to characterize the properties of materials at the micro and nano scales. One common application of these testing methodologies is the measurement of mechanical properties of structures that are physically small in scale, such as the strength of nanowhiskers and MEMS devices. Another common application is the use of small sample testing to gain insight into plastic deformation processes through systematic alteration of the sample dimensions in order to help isolate selected aspects of material behavior. Examples of these studies include the exploration of size-scale strengthening effects, the quantitative measurement and analysis of dislocation avalanches, and the measurement of local property variations in engineering alloys.