It is quite difficult to accurately measure the mechanical properties of thin films. Currently,
there are several methods (or application) available for measuring mechanical properties of thin films.
Their properties, however, have been determined by indirect methods such as cantilever beam test and
diaphragm bulge test. This paper reports the efforts to develop a direct strain measurement system for
micro/nano scale thin film materials. The proposed solution is the Visual Image Tracing (VIT) strain
measurement system coupled with a micro tensile testing unit, which consists of a piezoelectric
actuator, load cell, microscope and CCD cameras. The advantage of this system is the ability to
monitor the real time images of specimen during the test in order to determine its Young’s modulus
and Poisson’s ratio at the same time. Stress-strain curve, Young’s modulus, yield strength and
Poisson’s ratio of copper thin film measured using VIT system are presented.
Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio, and residual stress and strain in (111)-oriented scandium nitride thin films on silicon