Fatigue crack growth along interface between metal and ceramics submicron-thick films in inert environment

Abstract The mechanical crack growth along the interface between submicron films (Cu/SiN) under fatigue is experimentally investigated in an inert environment. A modified four-point bend specimen which has only one interface crack to facilitate the control of crack growth is proposed for the tests. The results reveal that the clear interface crack between Cu and SiN grows under the cyclic load even in the low humidity of the inert environment (3.5 ± 1% relative humidity (RH)). The crack growth rate, d a /d N , is governed by the stress intensity factor range, Δ K i , and the following three stages are observed in the d a /d N  − Δ K i curve: threshold, stable growth and critical growth. The region of subcritical crack growth is quite narrow due to the high yield stress of the films and the constraint by the substrate. A similar sigmoidal relationship is obtained in the air (50 ± 10% RH), though the growth is greatly accelerated by the humidity.

[1]  R. M. Cannon,et al.  Fracture and fatigue-crack growth along aluminum-alumina interfaces , 1996 .

[2]  F. Hauser,et al.  Deformation and Fracture Mechanics of Engineering Materials , 1976 .

[3]  Eduard Arzt,et al.  Parallel glide: Unexpected dislocation motion parallel to the substrate in ultrathin copper films , 2003 .

[4]  Richard P. Vinci,et al.  Thermal strain and stress in copper thin films , 1995 .

[5]  Anthony G. Evans,et al.  Some aspects of the mechanical strength of ceramic/metal bonded systems , 1986 .

[6]  S. Suresh,et al.  Crystallographic effects on the fatigue fracture of copper-sapphire interfaces , 2000 .

[7]  T. Kitamura,et al.  Crack initiation at free edge of interface between thin films in advanced LSI , 2002 .

[8]  Michael Lane,et al.  Adhesion and debonding of multi-layer thin film structures , 1998 .

[9]  M. Saka,et al.  A new systematic method of characterization for the strength of thin films on substrates—evaluation of mechanical properties by means of ‘film projection’ , 2002 .

[10]  M. P. Boer,et al.  Investigation of a new fracture mechanics specimen for thin film adhesion measurement , 1997 .

[11]  D. L. Chen,et al.  Effect of stress ratio and loading condition on the fatigue threshold , 1992 .

[12]  R. Cook,et al.  Four-point bend adhesion measurements of copper and permalloy systems , 2004 .

[13]  Zhigang Suo,et al.  Sandwich test specimens for measuring interface crack toughness , 1989 .

[14]  O. Kraft,et al.  Size effects in the fatigue behavior of thin Ag films , 2003 .

[15]  T. Kitamura,et al.  Evaluation of interface strength of micro-dot on substrate by means of AFM , 2004 .

[16]  Z. Suo,et al.  Mixed mode cracking in layered materials , 1991 .

[17]  D. Clarke,et al.  The effect of moisture on the fracture energy of TiN/SiO2 interfaces in multi-layer thin films , 1999 .

[18]  N. Moody,et al.  Quantitative adhesion measures of multilayer films: Part I. Indentation mechanics , 1999 .

[19]  T. Magnin.  Recent Advances for Corrosion Fatigue Mechanisms , 1995 .

[20]  N. Miyazaki,et al.  Mixed mode fracture criterion of interface crack between dissimilar materials , 1998 .

[21]  T. Kitamura,et al.  Pre-cracking technique for fracture mechanics experiments along interface between thin film and substrate , 2005 .

[22]  H. Kotera,et al.  Experimental and theoretical investigations of delamination at free edge of interface between piezoelectric thin films on a substrate , 2005 .

[23]  Michael W. Lane,et al.  Environmental Effects on Interfacial Adhesion , 2001, Microelectron. Reliab..

[24]  Michael V. Swain,et al.  Modified four-point bending specimen for determining the interface fracture energy for thin, brittle layers , 1998 .

[25]  Oliver Kraft,et al.  Cyclic deformation of polycrystalline Cu films , 2003 .

[26]  Anthony G. Evans,et al.  Measurement of adherence of residually stressed thin films by indentation. I. Mechanics of interface delamination , 1984 .

[27]  S. Suresh.  Fatigue of materials , 1991 .

[28]  Takayuki Kitamura,et al.  Effect of residual stress on delamination from interface edge between nano-films , 2003 .

[29]  R. M. Cannon,et al.  Effects of plastic constraint on the cyclic and static fatigue behavior of metal/ceramic layered structures , 2004 .

[30]  A. Evans,et al.  An experimental study of the mechanisms of crack extension along an oxide/metal interface , 1996 .

[31]  Sheldon M. Wiederhorn,et al.  Influence of Water Vapor on Crack Propagation in Soda‐Lime Glass , 1967 .