Microindentation for Fracture and Stress‐Corrosion Cracking Studies in Single‐Crystal Silicon

Simple microindentation techniques have been applied to investigate fracture and stress‐corrosion cracking in single‐crystal silicon. The results obtained agree with the previously reported data obtained from conventional methods. Fracture toughness of silicon in orientations was measured to be . No evidence of stress‐corrosion cracking in silicon in both air and water environments was observed even at a temperature moderately above room temperature. An interpretation for this lack of stress‐corrosion cracking has been proposed. These microindentation techniques, which have high spatial resolutions, are potentially useful for mechanical integrity assessment of siliconbased electronic components.