Abstract: A method for transferring a thin layer of monocrystalline silicon from a free face of a monocrystalline silicon donor substrate having a thickness greater than that of the thin layer includes implanting ions through the free face to form a buried brittle layer in the silicon, using a polymer layer, bonding the donor substrate, by the free face, to a receiver substrate, and fracturing the thin layer from the donor substrate at the buried brittle layer by thermal fracture processing, and selecting conditions of implantation such that a thickness of the thin layer is smaller than 10 micrometers, and a thickness of the polymer layer is below a critical threshold defined as a function of energy and dose of the implantation, the critical threshold being less than or equal to the lesser of 500 nanometers and the thin layer's thickness.

Abstract: A method for transferring a thin layer of monocrystalline silicon from a free face of a monocrystalline silicon donor substrate having a thickness greater than that of the thin layer includes implanting ions through the free face to form a buried brittle layer in the silicon, using a polymer layer, bonding the donor substrate, by the free face, to a receiver substrate, and fracturing the thin layer from the donor substrate at the buried brittle layer by thermal fracture processing, and selecting conditions of implantation such that a thickness of the thin layer is smaller than 10 micrometers, and a thickness of the polymer layer is below a critical threshold defined as a function of energy and dose of the implantation, the critical threshold being less than or equal to the lesser of 500 nanometers and the thin layer's thickness.

Abstract: A device for controlling the interaction of a tip and a sample includes a deformable element carrying the tip and means for positioning the tip with respect to the sample. The device also includes at lest two electrodes for creating an electrical field that exerts a force. The deformable element is preferably elastically deformable and includes advantageously a cantilever. According to a method for controlling the interaction of a tip and a sample, the tip carried by a deformable element is positioned with respect to the sample and the interaction of the tip and the sample is controlled by creating an electric field using a voltage between at least two electrodes. This electrical field exerts a force on the tip. Applications are to atomic force microscopy (AFM) and to nano-indentation measurements.