scholarly journals A Quantitative Model for Interpreting Nanometer Scale Hardness Measurements of Thin Films

1993 ◽  
Vol 308 ◽  
Author(s):  
W.H. Poisl ◽  
B.D. Fabes ◽  
W.C. Oliver
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Interfacial Strength ◽  
Quantitative Model ◽  
Carbon Layer ◽  
Nanometer Scale ◽  
Depth Sensing ◽  
Sapphire Substrates ◽  
Measured Change ◽  
Film Substrate ◽  
Measured Hardness

ABSTRACTA model has been developed to determine the hardness of thin films from the measured change in hardness with indenter displacement using a depth-sensing indentation instrument. The model is developed by dividing the measured hardness into film and substrate contributions based on the projected areas of both the film and substrate under the indenter. The model incorporates constraints on the deformation of the film by the surrounding material in the film, the substrate, and friction at the indenter/film and film/substrate interfaces. These constraints increase the pressure that the film can withstand and account for the increase in measured hardness as the indenter approaches the substrate.The model is evaluated by fitting the predicted hardness versus depth curves to data obtained from titanium and Ta2O5 films of varying thicknesses on sapphire substrates. The model predicts a lower interfacial strength for Ta2O5 films on sapphire with a carbon layer between the film and the substrate than that obtained for a film without an interfacial carbon layer.

Interfacial adhesion of nanoporous zeolite thin films

2006 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 505-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lili Hu ◽  
Junlan Wang ◽  
Zijian Li ◽  
Shuang Li ◽  
Yushan Yan
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Thin Films ◽  
Interfacial Adhesion ◽  
Interfacial Strength ◽  
Future Generation ◽  
In Situ Growth ◽  
Seeded Growth ◽  
Si Substrates ◽  
Film Substrate

Nanoporous silica zeolite thin films are promising candidates for future generation low-dielectric constant (low-k) materials. During the integration with metal interconnects, residual stresses resulting from the packaging processes may cause the low-k thin films to fracture or delaminate from the substrates. To achieve high-quality low-k zeolite thin films, it is important to carefully evaluate their adhesion performance. In this paper, a previously reported laser spallation technique is modified to investigate the interfacial adhesion of zeolite thin film-Si substrate interfaces fabricated using three different methods: spin-on, seeded growth, and in situ growth. The experimental results reported here show that seeded growth generates films with the highest measured adhesion strength (801 ± 68 MPa), followed by the in situ growth (324 ± 17 MPa), then by the spin-on (111 ± 29 MPa). The influence of the deposition method on film–substrate adhesion is discussed. This is the first time that the interfacial strength of zeolite thin films-Si substrates has been quantitatively evaluated. This paper is of great significance for the future applications of low-k zeolite thin film materials.

Influence of Substrate Hardness on the Response of W–C–Co-coated Samples to Depth-sensing Indentation

2000 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. 1766-1772 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. V. Fernandes ◽  
A. C. Trindade ◽  
L. F. Menezes ◽  
A. Cavaleiro
Keyword(s):  
Indentation Depth ◽  
Critical Value ◽  
The Other ◽  
Differential Analysis ◽  
Depth Sensing ◽  
Indentation Tests ◽  
Influence Of Substrate ◽  
Film Substrate ◽  
Substrate Hardness ◽  
Measured Hardness

Depth-sensing indentation tests were used to determine the hardness of amorphous W–C–Co coatings deposited on different steel and copper substrates. The hardness of the film, Hf, was chosen to be always greater than the hardness of the substrate Hs and within the range Hf/Hs = 2 to 18.5. The influence of the ratio Hf/Hs on the ratio (t/hD)C between the film thickness t and the critical value of the indentation depth (hD)C, for which the substrate starts to deform plastically, was studied. Two independent methods were used to determine (hD)C values. One utilized the differential analysis of the loading part of the indentation curve, and the other was based on the plot of (Hc – Hs)/(Hf − Hs) versus t/(hD), Hc being the measured hardness of the film/substrate composite at a given indentation depth (hD). A good correlation between both methods was found.

Interfacial Adhesion of Pure-Silica-Zeolite Low-k Thin Films

2005 ◽  
Vol 875 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lili Hu ◽  
Junlan Wang ◽  
Zijian Li ◽  
Shuang Li ◽  
Yushan Yan
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Thin Films ◽  
Interfacial Adhesion ◽  
Interfacial Strength ◽  
Laser Spallation ◽  
Si Substrates ◽  
Low Dielectric ◽  
Pure Silica ◽  
Film Substrate ◽  
First Time

AbstractNanoporous zeolite thin films are promising candidates as future low dielectric constant (low-k) materials. During the integration process with other semiconductor materials, the residual stresses resulting from the synthesis processes may cause fracture or delamination of the thin films. In order to achieve high quality low-k zeolite thin films, the evaluation of the adhesion performance is important. In this paper, laser spallation technique is utilized to investigate the interfacial adhesion of zeolite thin film-Si substrate interfaces prepared using three different processes. The experimental results demonstrate that the nature of the deposition method has a great effect on the resulted interfacial adhesion of the film-substrate interfaces. This is the first time that the interfacial strength of zeolite thin films-Si substrates is quantitatively evaluated. The results have great significance in the future applications of low-k zeolite thin film materials.

scholarly journals Annealing-induced recovery of indents in thin Au(Fe) bilayer films

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 2088-2099 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Kosinova ◽  
Ruth Schwaiger ◽  
Leonid Klinger ◽  
Eugen Rabkin
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Solid State ◽  
Film Thickness ◽  
Dislocation Loops ◽  
Depth Sensing ◽  
Ordered Arrays ◽  
Sapphire Substrates ◽  
Bilayer Films ◽  
Gas Atmosphere ◽  
Film Annealing

We employed depth-sensing nanoindentation to produce ordered arrays of indents on the surface of 50 nm-thick Au(Fe) films deposited on sapphire substrates. The maximum depth of the indents was approximately one-half of the film thickness. The indented films were annealed at a temperature of 700 °C in a forming gas atmosphere. While the onset of solid-state dewetting was observed in the unperturbed regions of the film, no holes to the substrate were observed in the indented regions. Instead, the film annealing resulted in the formation of hillocks at the indent locations, followed by their dissipation and the formation of shallow depressions nearby after subsequent annealing treatments. This annealing-induced evolution of nanoindents was interpreted in terms of annihilation of dislocation loops generated during indentation, accompanied by the formation of nanopores at the grain boundaries and their subsequent dissolution. The application of the processes uncovered in this work show great potential for the patterning of thin films.

MEASUREMENT OF THE HARDNESS OF ULTRA-THIN FILMS BY THE FIRST DERIVATIVE OF LOAD-DISPLACEMENT CURVE FROM NANOINDENTATION DATA

2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (01n02) ◽  
pp. 256-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
AMIT KUMAR ◽  
KAIYANG ZENG
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Indentation Depth ◽  
Displacement Curve ◽  
Bulk Materials ◽  
Alternative Analysis ◽  
Soft Substrate ◽  
Substrate Effects ◽  
Film Substrate ◽  
Hardness Values ◽  
Measured Hardness

The commonly-used nanoindentation experiments for measuring hardness of thin films may not give the accurate results when the thickness of the film is in the range of few hundred nanometers or less due to the unavoidable substrate effects. The available analysis methods usually work well when the indentation depth is less than one tenth of the total thickness of the film; otherwise, it is very difficult to determine the film-only properties without substrate effects. This work proposes an alternative analysis to measure the hardness of ultra-thin film from nanoindentation data. This method is tested for numbers of bulk materials and the results agreed well with literature reported values; the method is then applied to thin films. It is found that this analysis can give very accurate results for different kind of film-substrate systems such as soft-films on hard-substrate and hard-film on soft-substrate. As the proposed method is based on the measurement of hardness at each indentation step therefore, it is also capable to show at what indentation depth the substrate starts affecting the indentation-measured hardness values.

Strain and Stress Distribution in Vickers Indentation of Coated Materials

2006 ◽  
Vol 514-516 ◽  
pp. 1472-1476
Author(s):  
Jorge M. Antunes ◽  
Nataliya A. Sakharova ◽  
José Valdemar Fernandes ◽  
Luís Filipe Menezes
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Numerical Simulation ◽  
Young’S Modulus ◽  
Indentation Depth ◽  
Young's Modulus ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Depth Sensing ◽  
Coated Materials ◽  
Film Substrate

Depth sensing indentation equipment allows the mechanical properties of thin films to be easily determined, particularly the hardness and Young’s modulus. In order to minimize the influence of the substrate on the measured properties, the indentation depth must be limited to a small fraction of the film’s thickness. However, for very thin films, the determination of the contribution of the substrate and the film to the measured mechanical properties becomes a hard task, because both deform plastically. The numerical simulation of ultramicrohardness tests can be a helpful tool towards better understanding of the influence of the parameters involved in the mechanical characterization of thin films. For this purpose, a three-dimensional numerical simulation home code, HAFILM, was used to simulate ultramicrohardness tests on coated substrates. Materials with different Young’s modulus film/substrate ratios were tested. Analyses of strain and stress distributions for several indentation depth values were performed, in order to clarify the composite behaviour.

Microstructure of YBa2Cu3O7-x thin films deposited by dc sputtering

1989 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
pp. 172-173
Author(s):  
O. Eibl ◽  
G. Gieres ◽  
H. Behner
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Cross Sections ◽  
Intermediate Layer ◽  
Amorphous State ◽  
Critical Currents ◽  
Dc Sputtering ◽  
State Process ◽  
Diffraction Patterns ◽  
Film Substrate ◽  
Substrate Temperatures

The microstructure of high-Tc YBa2Cu3O7-X thin films deposited by DC-sputtering on SrTiO3 substrates was analysed by TEM. Films were either (i) deposited in the amorphous state at substrate temperatures < 450°C and crystallised by a heat treatment at 900°C (process 1) or (ii) deposited at around 740°C in the crystalline state (process 2). Cross sections were prepared for TEM analyses and are especially useful for studying film substrate interdiffusion (fig.1). Films deposited in process 1 were polycristalline and the grain size was approximately 200 nm. Films were porous and the size of voids was approximately 100 nm. Between the SrTiO3 substrate and the YBa2Cu3Ox film a densly grown crystalline intermediate layer approximately 150 nm thick covered the SrTiO3 substrate. EDX microanalyses showed that the layer consisted of Sr, Ba and Ti, however, did not contain Y and Cu. Crystallites of the layer were carefully tilted in the microscope and diffraction patterns were obtained in five different poles for every crystallite. These patterns were consistent with the phase (Ba1-XSrx)2TiO4. The intermediate layer was most likely formed during the annealing at 900°C. Its formation can be understood as a diffusion of Ba from the amorphously deposited film into the substrate and diffusion of Sr from the substrate into the film. Between the intermediate layer and the surface of the film the film consisted of YBa2Cu3O7-x grains. Films prepared in process 1 had Tc(R=0) close to 90 K, however, critical currents were as low as jc = 104A/cm2 at 77 K.

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