Quantification the Effect of the Thickness of Thin Films on their Elastic Parameters

2011 ◽  
Vol 324 ◽  
pp. 93-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amel Gacem ◽  
A. Doghmane ◽  
Z. Hadjoub
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Elasticity Modulus ◽  
Calculation Model ◽  
Thickness Variation ◽  
Acoustic Signatures ◽  
Context Modelling ◽  
Universal Relationship ◽  
Film Substrate ◽  
Material Interaction

The determination of the characteristics and properties of thin films deposited on substrates is necessary in any device application in various fields. Adequate mechanical properties are highly required for the majority of surface waves and semiconductor devices. In this context, modelling the ultrasonic-material interaction, we present results of simulation curves of acoustic signatures for multiple thin film/substrate combinations. The results obtained on several structures (Al, SiO2, ZnO, Cu, AlN, SiC and Cr)/(Al2O3, Si, Cu or Quartz) showed a velocity dispersion of the Rayleigh wave as a function of layer thickness. The development of a theoretical calculation model based on the acoustic behaviour of these structures has enabled us to quantify the dispersive evolution (positive and negative) density. Thus, we have established a universal relationship describing the density-thickness variation. In addition, networks of dispersion curves, representing the evolution of elasticity modulus (Young and shear), were determined. These charts can be used to extract the influence of thickness of layers on the variation of elastic constants

Effects of substrate on determination of hardness of thin films by nanoscratch and nanoindentation techniques

2004 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 1791-1802 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noureddine Tayebi ◽  
Andreas A. Polycarpou ◽  
Thomas F. Conry
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Film Thickness ◽  
Elastic Recovery ◽  
Empirical Relationship ◽  
Residual Deformation ◽  
Substrate Effect ◽  
Nanoindentation Technique ◽  
Film Substrate ◽  
Composite Hardness

A comparative study on the effects of the substrate on the determination of hardness of thin films by the use of the nanoscratch and nanoindentation techniques was conducted. Gold films deposited on fused quartz substrates and silicon dioxide films deposited on aluminum substrates with variant film thicknesses were investigated. These two systems correspond to a soft film on a hard substrate and a hard film on a soft substrate, respectively. The effect of substrate interaction on the measurement of hardness using the nanoscratch technique was found to be less pronounced compared to that of the nanoindentation technique due to: (i) the lower normal loads applied to achieve the penetration depths that occur at higher loads when using the nanoindentation method; (ii) the direct imaging of the residual deformation profile that is used in the nanoscratch technique, which allows for the effects of pileup or sink-in to be taken into account, whereas in the nanoindentation technique the contact area is estimated from the load-displacement data, which does not include such effects; and (iii) the account of elastic recovery of the plastically deformed surfaces from scratch tests. The film thickness did not appear to have any effect on the hardness of Au and SiO2 films obtained from nanoscratch data. This observation allowed, for the case of SiO2 films, the determination of the “free substrate effect region” and the derivation of an empirical relationship that relates the composite hardness of the film/substrate system to the contact-depth-to-film-thickness ratio, even when the indenter penetrates into the substrate. Such findings can allow for the determination of the intrinsic hardness of ultrathin hard films (∼1–5 nm thick), where the substrate effect is unavoidable.

Non-Contact Real-Time Evaluation of Polyimide Thin Film Thermoelastic Properties Through Impulsive Stimulated Thermal Scattering

1992 ◽  
Vol 284 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Rogers ◽  
A. R. Duggal ◽  
K. A. Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Thin Films ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Viscoelastic Properties ◽  
Thermoelastic Properties ◽  
Substrate Adhesion ◽  
Thermal Scattering ◽  
Film Substrate ◽  
Time Evaluation

ABSTRACTWe demonstrate a new purely optical based method for the excitation and detection of acoustic and thermal disturbances in thin films. This technique is applied to the determination of the viscoelastic properties of unsupported and silicon supported polyimide thin (∼1 micron) films. We show how this technique can be used to detect film delaminations and suggest how it may be used to probe film-substrate adhesion quality.

Specific Heat Determination of Metallic Thin Films at Room Conditions

2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Lugo ◽  
V. Rejón ◽  
A. I. Oliva
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Specific Heat ◽  
Thermal Model ◽  
Electronic Device ◽  
Metallic Thin Films ◽  
Electric Pulses ◽  
Glass Substrates ◽  
Film Substrate ◽  
Analytical Thermal Model

A methodology to evaluate the specific heat of metallic thin films at constant pressure and 300 K by means of the heating profile is proposed. Changes on the electrical resistance of metallic films after the application of short electric pulses (20–500 μs) are correlated with changes of temperature of the films. Electric pulses are applied on films by an implemented electronic device. A proposed analytical thermal model predicts the correlation between the duration of the electric pulses and the thermal profiles of the film/substrate systems. The analytical thermal model and the measured thermal profiles results are useful to evaluate the specific heat of films. Following this methodology, Au and Al nanofilms evaporated on glass substrates were analyzed. Results indicate that specific heat values of Au films decrease from (229 ± 15) J/kg K to (125 ± 8) J/kg K, and for Al films from (1444 ± 89) J/kg K to (947 ± 53) J/kg K, for film thicknesses from 20 to 200 nm.

Interactions Between Al and Cr Thin Films

1976 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 638-639
Author(s):  
R. M. Anderson ◽  
T. M. Reith ◽  
M. J. Sullivan ◽  
E. K. Brandis
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Vacuum System ◽  
Processing Temperature ◽  
Diffusion Couples ◽  
Electronic Circuits ◽  
Intermetallic Formation ◽  
Si Substrates ◽  
Aluminum Silicon

Thin films of aluminum or aluminum-silicon can be used in conjunction with thin films of chromium in integrated electronic circuits. For some applications, these films exhibit undesirable reactions; in particular, intermetallic formation below 500 C must be inhibited or prevented. The Al films, being the principal current carriers in interconnective metal applications, are usually much thicker than the Cr; so one might expect Al-rich intermetallics to form when the processing temperature goes out of control. Unfortunately, the JCPDS and the literature do not contain enough data on the Al-rich phases CrAl7 and Cr2Al11, and the determination of these data was a secondary aim of this work.To define a matrix of Cr-Al diffusion couples, Cr-Al films were deposited with two sets of variables: Al or Al-Si, and broken vacuum or single pumpdown. All films were deposited on 2-1/4-inch thermally oxidized Si substrates. A 500-Å layer of Cr was deposited at 120 Å/min on substrates at room temperature, in a vacuum system that had been pumped to 2 x 10-6 Torr. Then, with or without vacuum break, a 1000-Å layer of Al or Al-Si was deposited at 35 Å/s, with the substrates still at room temperature.

Determination of Stoichiometry of GaAs Component in (Gaas)Ge Epitaxially Grown Thin Films by Electron Microprobe X-Ray Analysis

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 264-265
Author(s):  
D. R. Liu ◽  
S. S. Shinozaki ◽  
R. J. Baird
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Thin Films ◽  
Monte Carlo Simulation ◽  
Monte Carlo ◽  
Compound Semiconductors ◽  
Energy Dispersive Analysis ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Metastable Alloys ◽  
Lower Voltage

The epitaxially grown (GaAs)Ge thin film has been arousing much interest because it is one of metastable alloys of III-V compound semiconductors with germanium and a possible candidate in optoelectronic applications. It is important to be able to accurately determine the composition of the film, particularly whether or not the GaAs component is in stoichiometry, but x-ray energy dispersive analysis (EDS) cannot meet this need. The thickness of the film is usually about 0.5-1.5 μm. If Kα peaks are used for quantification, the accelerating voltage must be more than 10 kV in order for these peaks to be excited. Under this voltage, the generation depth of x-ray photons approaches 1 μm, as evidenced by a Monte Carlo simulation and actual x-ray intensity measurement as discussed below. If a lower voltage is used to reduce the generation depth, their L peaks have to be used. But these L peaks actually are merged as one big hump simply because the atomic numbers of these three elements are relatively small and close together, and the EDS energy resolution is limited.

Scanning-probe microscope analysis of optical thin films: A new analytical tool in a manufacturing environment

1994 ◽  
Vol 52 ◽  
pp. 1068-1069
Author(s):  
S. P. Sapers ◽  
R. Clark ◽  
P. Somerville
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Thin Films ◽  
Thermal Control ◽  
Scanning Probe Microscope ◽  
Scanning Probe ◽  
List Type ◽  
Manufacturing Environment ◽  
Physical Measurements ◽  
Probe Microscope

OCLI is a leading manufacturer of thin films for optical and thermal control applications. The determination of thin film and substrate topography can be a powerful way to obtain information for deposition process design and control, and about the final thin film device properties. At OCLI we use a scanning probe microscope (SPM) in the analytical lab to obtain qualitative and quantitative data about thin film and substrate surfaces for applications in production and research and development. This manufacturing environment requires a rapid response, and a large degree of flexibility, which poses special challenges for this emerging technology. The types of information the SPM provides can be broken into three categories:(1)Imaging of surface topography for visualization purposes, especially for samples that are not SEM compatible due to size or material constraints;(2)Examination of sample surface features to make physical measurements such as surface roughness, lateral feature spacing, grain size, and surface area;(3)Determination of physical properties such as surface compliance, i.e. “hardness”, surface frictional forces, surface electrical properties.

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.

STEM and ELS Observation of Early Oxide Formation on the Surface of Cr Thin Films

1980 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 412-413
Author(s):  
Fumio Watari ◽  
J. M. Cowley
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Optical System ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Oxide Formation ◽  
Initial Nucleation ◽  
Diffraction Patterns ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Multiple Twinning ◽  
Moderately High Temperature

STEM coupled with the optical system was used for the investigation of the early oxidation on the surface of Cr. Cr thin films (30 – 1000Å) were prepared by evaporation onto the polished or air-cleaved NaCl substrates at room temperature and 45°C in a vacuum of 10−6 Torr with an evaporation speed 0.3Å/sec. Rather thick specimens (200 – 1000Å) with various preferred orientations were used for the investigation of the oxidation at moderately high temperature (600 − 1100°C). Selected area diffraction patterns in these specimens are usually very much complicated by the existence of the different kinds of oxides and their multiple twinning. The determination of the epitaxial orientation relationship of the oxides formed on the Cr surface was made possible by intensive use of the optical system and microdiffraction techniques. Prior to the formation of the known rhombohedral Cr2O3, a thin spinel oxide, probably analogous to γ -Al203 or γ -Fe203, was formed. Fig. 1a shows the distinct epitaxial growth of the spinel (001) as well as the rhombohedral (125) on the well-oriented Cr(001) surface. In the case of the Cr specimen with the (001) preferred orientation (Fig. 1b), the rings explainable by spinel structure appeared as well as the well defined epitaxial spots of the spinel (001). The microdif fraction from 20A areas (Fig. 2a) clearly shows the same pattern as Fig. Ia with the weaker oxide spots among the more intense Cr spots, indicating that the thickness of the oxide is much less than that of Cr. The rhombohedral Cr2O3 was nucleated preferably at the Cr(011) sites provided by the polycrystalline nature of the present specimens with the relation Cr2O3 (001)//Cr(011), and by further oxidation it grew into full coverage of the rest of the Cr surface with the orientation determined by the initial nucleation.

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