In‐Situ Customized Printing and MEMS‐Based Mechanical Characterization of FIB‐CVD Free‐Standing Pt‐C Nanospring

Abstract Growing freestanding nanostructures of arbitrary lengths by focused‐ion‐beam (FIB) is difficult because prolonged exposure may cause FIB drift and thermal effects. Particularly, Pt has a slower growth rate compared to W or C, making the growth of longer Pt nanostructures via FIB chemical vapor deposition (FIB‐CVD) more challenging. Herein, a FIB‐CVD printing strategy is developed with the optimal deposition parameters, which has the capability to fabricate the 18‐µm‐long Pt‐C nanospring. Meanwhile, an automated in‐situ tensile testing system based on a micro‐electro‐mechanical system (MEMS) test platform is designed to evaluate the mechanical properties of the nanowire and nanospring fabricated with the same FIB‐CVD printing parameters. The tensile test results demonstrate that the presented printing method owns controllable and stable manufacture capability. Moreover, the spring coefficient of the nanospring is 5.97 N m −1 in the elastic range (0–16%), and the stretching stain is 28%, which is four times than that of the fabricated nanowire. In addition, during 2000 cycles fatigue and stability testing, the designed nanospring demonstrates high fatigue resistance and stability. This work provides a reliable FIB‐CVD printing manufactural strategy, which paves a new insight into nanomanufacturing technology and nanostrain engineering.