Novel material possesses the strength of diamonds and graphene and has a yield strength 10 times greater than Kevlar, famous for its use in bulletproof vests.
R.A. (Richard) Norte. Image Credit: Delft University of Technology
Assistant professor Richard Norte, along with other scientists at Delft University of Technology, has revealed an extraordinary novel material with the potential to influence the world of material science: amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC).
This material establishes mechanical properties vital for vibration isolation on a microchip other than its extraordinary strength. Amorphous silicon carbide is mainly appropriate for producing ultra-sensitive microchip sensors.
The advantages of this material’s strength and scalability form vast applications, from ultra-sensitive microchip sensors and advanced solar cells to pioneering space exploration and DNA sequencing technologies.
Ten Medium-Sized Cars
To better understand the crucial characteristic of ‘amorphous,’ think of most materials as being made up of atoms arranged in a regular pattern, like an intricately built Lego tower. These are termed as ‘crystalline’ materials, like for example, diamond. It has carbon atoms perfectly aligned, contributing to its famed hardness.
Richard A. Norte, Department of Precision and Microsystems Engineering, Delft University of Technology
The amorphous materials are similar to a randomly piled set of Legos, where atoms lack steady arrangement. Apart from expectations, this randomization does not result in brittleness. Amorphous silicon carbide is a testament to the strength emerging from such randomness. The tensile strength is 10 GigaPascal (GPa).
To grasp what this means, imagine trying to stretch a piece of duct tape until it breaks. Now if you’d want to simulate the tensile stress equivalent to 10 GPa, you'd need to hang about ten medium-sized cars end-to-end off that strip before it breaks.
Richard A. Norte, Department of Precision and Microsystems Engineering, Delft University of Technology
Nanostrings
The scientists implemented an innovative method to examine the material’s tensile strength. They used microchip technology to examine the material instead of traditional methods. The films of amorphous silicon carbide are expanded on a silicon substrate and suspended, holding the geometry of the nanostrings for stimulating high tensile forces.
They observed the point of breakage while manufacturing numerous such structures with increasing tensile forces. This microchip-based method guarantees unprecedented precision and leads the way for upcoming material testing.
From Micro to Macro
The main advantage of this material is its scalability. Graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms, is recognized for its impressive strength and is difficult to manufacture in huge quantities. Though diamonds are strong, they are infrequent or expensive to manufacture. Amorphous silicon carbide can be produced at wafer scales, contributing to huge sheets of this robust material.
With amorphous silicon carbide's emergence, we're poised at the threshold of microchip research brimming with technological possibilities.
Richard A. Norte, Department of Precision and Microsystems Engineering, Delft University of Technology
Journal Reference:
Xu, M., et al. (2023). High-Strength Amorphous Silicon Carbide for Nanomechanics. Advanced Materials. doi.org/10.1002/adma.202306513.