Multivariant Measurements of Ultra Thin Film Adhesion Reliability

M. Chiang, R. Song, A. Karim, E. J. Amis
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), US

Keywords: Combinatorial approach, adhesion reliability, thin film, edge delamination, fracture mechanics, finite element

Abstract:
The progress of a proposed high-throughput combinatorial approach to the edge delamination test is reported. This approach can construct the adhesion reliability, as a function of temperature and film thickness (in the sub-micron range) in one-step, for a thin film bonded to a substrate. Requirements for valid testing results from a mechanistic viewpoint are analyzed using three-dimensional computational fracture mechanics. A numerical evaluation using simulation has proven the feasibility of the combinatorial approach and to design the experimental protocol. An experimental evaluation has been in progress to fully demonstrate the combinatorial approach. Some preliminary experimental results indicate that the approach is very promising for assessing the adhesion reliability as a function of both temperature and film thickness in a single step. Temperature and film thickness are the parameters of greatest interest in industrial applications, but the test method can be extended to include other variables.

NSTI Nanotech 2003 Conference Technical Program Abstract