A Semi-Quantitative Method for Thin Film Adhesion Measurement

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Abstract
Film deposition techniques are used in several applications. In tribology, wear and friction can be changed significantly by depositing a thin film on the contacting surfaces. A vital factor for this application is the adhesion between the film and the substrate. Due to high contact stresses in many tribological applications, high adhesion is required. Measurement of adhesion is therefore important if coated elements are to be used with confidence. A method has been developed for the measurement of adhesion which uses a composite model. This method is presented in this paper. A one-dimensional elastic analysis is sufficient to determine adhesion strength. In this method an interfacial shear stress is generated at the film-to-substrate interface by imposing a strain difference between the film and substrate. This interfacial shear stress is used to evaluate film adhesion. If the film-substrate adhesion is less than the shear stress applied to the interface the film will debond; otherwise, it will remain adhered to the substrate. The analysis developed yields a quantitative expression for the interfacial shear strength. Therefore the adhesion can be quantitatively determined.

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