An Apparatus for Measuring Stress in Thin Films
- 1 August 1969
- journal article
- research article
- Published by AIP Publishing in Review of Scientific Instruments
- Vol. 40 (8) , 1054-1058
- https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1684149
Abstract
The average stress in thin films can be obtained by measuring the bending produced in a thin substrate by the action of the film. If the substrate is cantilevered, the deflection of the free end of the substrate is proportional to the average stress in the film. In the device described here, an electronic microbalance is used to measure the deflection of the free end of the cantilevered substrate. Continuous measurement of the film stress, in situ, during film deposition is readily accomplished with this apparatus. The sensitivity is such that continuous measurements of the film stress are possible up to film thicknesses of about 2000 Å. Furthermore, the substrate temperature can be varied from −195 to 350°C. Several examples of film stress in different materials at various substrate temperatures are shown. The limitations and experimental accuracy of this device are discussed.Keywords
This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit:
- Calculation of stress in electrodeposits from the curvature of a plated stripJournal of Research of the National Bureau of Standards, 1949
- The tension of metallic films deposited by electrolysisProceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Containing Papers of a Mathematical and Physical Character, 1909