Combinatorial approach to the edge delamination test for thin film reliability - concept and simulation

A high-throughput combinatorial approach to edge delamination test is proposed to map the failure of adhesion as a function of both temperature and film thickness in a single step. In this approach, a single specimen of a thin film bonded to a substrate with orthogonal thickness and temperature gradients is subdivided into separate samples. This approach can be adopted to measure the adhesion reliability for films with thicknesses in the nano regime by the addition of an overlayer. In addition, it can increase the pace of material innovations in nanoscale science and technology. The experimental requirements for a valid combinatorial test are analyzed using three-dimensional computational fracture mechanics. A simulation result is presented to demonstrate the feasibility of the combinatorial approach and to design the experimental protocol. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.