Influence of cyclic loading on physical and mechanical properties of thin-film membrane structures

The principle of modification of mechanical properties of thin-film membrane structures of arbitrary shape by non-contact method was proposed, realized and explained for the first time. The idea was tested on an aluminum thin-film membrane formed by magnetron method on a silicon substrate. The external influence was realized by means of cyclic loading in the form of discharge and supply of excess air pressure to the membrane. As a result of repeated impacts, physical properties of materials (grain size and roughness) and mechanical properties (internal mechanical stresses and critical overpressure) are changed. Changing the magnitude of residual mechanical stresses in the membrane material allows the formation of a surface with a desired curvature value. In this work, after cyclic loading with pressure equal to half of the critical pressure, the following effects were revealed: the deflection of the membrane in the absence of external influence increased by more than an order of magnitude, the structure shifted to the plastic type of deformation, the critical rupture pressure decreased by several tens of percent. Application of this methodology allows to create new materials with unique mechanical properties.