# DGIST and Yonsei use third-harmonic microscopy to read strain in wrinkled 15 nm silicon films

- Published: 2026-11-09 01:06 UTC
- Section: Machines & Making › Electronics
- Tags: ultrathin silicon, wrinkled silicon, third-harmonic generation, strain analysis, first-principles calculations, flexible optoelectronics, Nano Letters, DGIST
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-05d211c181e6fbfdf4c1a1c1_dgist_and_yonsei/

**Korean researchers showed how light response changes in wrinkled ultrathin silicon and proposed a non-destructive way to read local strain, relevant to flexible electronic and optical devices.**

![DGIST and Yonsei use third-harmonic microscopy to read strain in wrinkled 15 nm silicon films](https://realtech.media/media/2026/11/3cfd2fccdb18b6ee.jpg)
*Sangitiana Fararano, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0*

DGIST and Yonsei University researchers in South Korea have developed a way to analyze strain in wrinkled ultrathin silicon, fnnews.com reports. Yonsei made the wrinkled silicon nanomembranes, and the DGIST group studied their optical response. [1]

DGIST combined third-harmonic generation microscopy, which yields light at three times the input frequency, with first-principles quantum calculations. Infrared light at 1040 nm produced a resonance with electrons in silicon and an ultraviolet signal near 346 nm. The ratio of signal intensity between polarization directions differed at wrinkle crests and troughs, depending on strain. [1]

In membranes about 15 nm thick, changes in electronic structure and the 3D wrinkle shape alter the local light distribution and affect the signal. The study was published in Nano Letters. [1]

## Sources

1. [fnnews.com](https://www.fnnews.com/news/202611090837479653)

---

Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-05d211c181e6fbfdf4c1a1c1_dgist_and_yonsei/