Indentation Induced Through Thickness Film Fracture on Engineering Alloys

In thin film systems, failure often occurs via fracture mechanisms, with either through thickness cracking or interfacial delamination leading to failure of the device or layer. In spite of this common failure mechanism, many of the testing methods for analyzing fracture in thin film systems are focused on the applied problems of thin film adhesion measurements. While this is an important goal in many industries, particularly in the microelectronics community, for engineering applications there many situations where film fracture thorugh the thickness of the film, and not film adhesion, is the controlling factor in the life of a component. Measuring the stress at which fracture occurs in these thin film systems requires testing methods amicable to both the small scale of the films as well as the complex relationship between the mechanical properties of the film and the substrate.