Monolithic silicon micromechanical metastructures for compliant MEMS devices

Monolithic silicon micromechanical metastructures for compliant MEMS devices | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Monolithic silicon micromechanical metastructures for compliant MEMS devices Bingdong Chang, Mads Holmgaard Jensen, Jiawei Wang, Ada-Ioana Bunea, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9517792/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 8 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Mechanical metastructures (MMs) have enabled exotic and programmable mechanical properties in artificial materials, which have attracted considerable interest for applications like energy harvesting, energy absorption, sensing, and biomedical devices. Although MMs have already been realized based on materials including metals, polymers, and ceramics, there has been no demonstration of MMs with single crystalline silicon (Si) in microscale, which is limited by precise 3D manufacturing technologies on monolithic Si substrates. By actively engineering the mechanical properties of Si microstructures with a MM design, we have created the possibility for a broader range of functionalities in Si-based microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and microchips. In this study we report micromechanical metastructures (µMMs) fabricated with monolithic silicon materials on a wafer-scale. Freestanding µMMs were fabricated and their mechanical properties were characterized using a microprobe station. With a rational design of unit cell geometries, we achieve negative Poisson’s ratio (-0.25 to -1.0), maximum strain up to 20% both tensile and compressive, and an effective Young’s modulus of 5 MPa to 13 MPa. Moreover, we have demonstrated transfer of large areas of Si µMMs (5 mm by 2.5 mm) into flexible polymer substrates to achieve hybrid structures, which exhibit compliant mechanical properties with an effective Young’s modulus down to 0.42 MPa. The embedded µMMs remain electrically conductive with applied tensile strain up to 20%, implying potential for flexible and wearable MEMS devices. Physical sciences/Engineering Physical sciences/Engineering/Electrical and electronic engineering Mechanical metastructures mechanical metamaterials single crystalline Si flexible devices wearable devices Full Text Additional Declarations There is no conflict of interest Supplementary Files SupportingInformation.docx Supplementary materials Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Review # 2 received at journal 06 May, 2026 Reviewer # 3 agreed at journal 05 May, 2026 Reviewer # 2 agreed at journal 05 May, 2026 Reviewer # 1 agreed at journal 05 May, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 05 May, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 28 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 24 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 24 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9517792","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":630791751,"identity":"a0a733db-9221-4ab7-ae35-4978faf97f27","order_by":0,"name":"Bingdong 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[Microsystems \u0026 Nanoengineering](http://www.nature.com/micronano/)","snPcode":"41378","submissionUrl":"https://mts-micronano.nature.com/","title":"Microsystems \u0026 Nanoengineering","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"Nature AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Mechanical metastructures, mechanical metamaterials, single crystalline Si, flexible devices, wearable devices","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9517792/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9517792/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eMechanical metastructures (MMs) have enabled exotic and programmable mechanical properties in artificial materials, which have attracted considerable interest for applications like energy harvesting, energy absorption, sensing, and biomedical devices. Although MMs have already been realized based on materials including metals, polymers, and ceramics, there has been no demonstration of MMs with single crystalline silicon (Si) in microscale, which is limited by precise 3D manufacturing technologies on monolithic Si substrates. By actively engineering the mechanical properties of Si microstructures with a MM design, we have created the possibility for a broader range of functionalities in Si-based microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and microchips. In this study we report micromechanical metastructures (\u0026micro;MMs) fabricated with monolithic silicon materials on a wafer-scale. Freestanding \u0026micro;MMs were fabricated and their mechanical properties were characterized using a microprobe station. With a rational design of unit cell geometries, we achieve negative Poisson\u0026rsquo;s ratio (-0.25 to -1.0), maximum strain up to 20% both tensile and compressive, and an effective Young\u0026rsquo;s modulus of 5 MPa to 13 MPa. Moreover, we have demonstrated transfer of large areas of Si \u0026micro;MMs (5 mm by 2.5 mm) into flexible polymer substrates to achieve hybrid structures, which exhibit compliant mechanical properties with an effective Young\u0026rsquo;s modulus down to 0.42 MPa. 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