Abstract—An in situ tensile test platform has been developed to study the mechanical properties of thin-film metal specimens. The fully integrated on-chip platform loads a specimen using a thermal actuator (TA). TAs conveniently provide high forces and excellent alignment, but generate large heat that can flow to specimens and raise their temperature. In the new design, heat flow to the speci…
Abstract—A chevron thermal actuator has been implemented as a constant velocity puller in a multiasperity frictional test platform. This platform enables a wide variation of puller velocity (1–3100 μm/s, 3.5 decades), normal load (2–4500 μN, 3.4 decades), and spring constant (0.06–100 μN/μm, 3.2 decades). These characteristics are achieved by leveraging the actuator thermal time con…