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Toughness and Contact Behavior of Conventional and Low-k Dielectric Thin Films

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Robert F. Cook
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, U.S.A.
Dylan J. Morris
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, U.S.A.
Jeremy Thurn
Affiliation:
Advanced Mechanical Technology, Seagate Technology Bloomington, MN, 55435, U.S.A.
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Abstract

A comprehensive indentation fracture mechanics framework is established that allows the fracture properties of thin films to be determined. The framework is composed of four stress-intensity factors characterizing the stress fields arising from (i) elastic contact, (ii) wedging, (iii) residual elastic-plastic mismatch and (iv) pre-existing film stress. The amplitudes of the stress-intensity factors depend on the deformation properties of the film and vary throughout the indentation cycle. The toughness values of a PVD alumina, for which (iii) and (iv) are dominant, and a low-k film, for which (i), (ii) and (iv) are dominant, are evaluated.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2004

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References

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