Effects of the strain rate in compression of electrodeposited gold micro-pillars toward the design of MEMS components

In this study, the strain rate dependence in yield strengths of electrodeposited gold micro-pillars is evaluated for the design of movable components in MEMS devices. The micro-pillars are fabricated from electrodeposited gold by focused ion beam system. The strain rate dependence is quantified by the strain rate sensitivity, and the strain rate sensitivity is calculated from the yield strength obtained from compression tests of the gold micro-pillars having different sizes at different strain rates. An increase in the yield strength following a reduction in the pillar size is observed, which is the sample size effect. Also, weakening of the yield strength is observed following a decrease in the strain rate, which is the strain rate dependence, and the strain rate sensitivity of the gold micro-pillars is found be at roughly 0.03.