High aspect ratio vertical InAs nanowires were mechanically characterized in a scanning
electron
microscope equipped with two micromanipulators. One, equipped with a calibrated atomic
force
microscope probe, was used for in-situ static bending of single nanowires along the
/11–20S
crystallographic direction. The other one was equipped with a tungsten tip for dynamic
resonance
excitation of the same nanowires. This setup enabled a direct comparison between the
two techniques.
The crystal structure was analyzed using transmission electron microscopy, and for
InAs nanowires
with a hexagonal wutzite crystal structure, the bending modulus value was found to
BM¼43.5 GPa.
This value is significantly lower than previously reported for both cubic zinc blende
InAs bulk crystals
and InAs nanowires. Besides, due to their high resonance quality factor (Q41200),
the wurtzite InAs
nanowires are shown to be a promising candidate for sub-femtogram mass detectors.
