Young's modulus of ZnO microwires determined by various mechanical measurement methods

• We synthesized high quality ZnO microwires and characterized by X-ray diffraction, photoluminescence spectroscopy.
• Three different mechanical measurement methods have been executed to the same batch of ZnO microwires.
• A consistent Young's modulus value was obtained by different modelings according to each measurements.

The mechanical properties of ZnO microwires have been studied using three different methods: quasi-static flexural measurements using atomic force microscopy, static measurements using a nano indenter, and dynamic flexural measurements using optical interferometry. ZnO microwires were synthesized by chemical vapor deposition method, and the crystal structure and quality were examined using x-ray diffraction and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The Young's moduli were estimated using the measurement results from the three methods, and they showed consistent values in the range 67.5–79.4 GPa for microwires with diameters of 1.8 μm ± 100 nm.