Patent ID: 8499645

Claim:
A stress micro mechanical system for measuring stress and strain in micro- and nano-fibers, tubes, and wires, the system comprising: a substrate ( 23 ) for supporting a MEMS fabrication; and a MEMS fabrication on said substrate, said MEMS fabrication including first and second platforms having ends defining freestanding sample attachment points ( 16 , 22 ), the free standing sample attachment points being biased by spring force and movable in a translation direction relative to one another with a sample attached between the sample attachment points; an optical microscope ( 30 ) for imaging surfaces of said MEMS fabrication including a field of view encompassing both of said ends of said platforms and their entire range of movement; and software ( 58 - 68 ) for conducting digital image correlation on the field of view encompassing both of said ends of said platforms and their entire range of movement in images obtained by said optical microscope to determine the movement of said surfaces at a resolution greater than the resolution of said optical microscope.