The Elastic Modulus of Nanometer-Sized Tungsten Layers and Wires

Abstract

The size-dependent elastic modulus of tungsten layers and wires is predicted according to size-dependent melting temperature model. The elastic modulus decreases with decreasing of size and the drop becomes dramatically once the size decreases below 3 and 6 nm for layers and wires, respectively. Moreover, the softening of elastic modulus for wires is nearly twice as large as that for layers when size remains the same. The accuracy of the model is verified by experimental and atomistic simulations results.