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Simple nanoindentation-based method for determining linear thermal expansion coefficients of micro-scale materials

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2020

Yuanbin Qin Open the ORCID record for Yuanbin Qin [Opens in a new window] ,
Zhiyu Nie ,
Chao Ma ,
Longchao Huang ,
Yueqing Yang ,
Qinqin Fu ,
Weifeng He  and
Degang Xie
Yuanbin Qin
Affiliation:
Center for Advancing Materials Performance from the Nanoscale, State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, P.R. China
Zhiyu Nie
Affiliation:
Center for Advancing Materials Performance from the Nanoscale, State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, P.R. China
Chao Ma
Affiliation:
Center for High Resolution Electron Microscopy, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha410082, P.R. China
Longchao Huang
Affiliation:
Center for Advancing Materials Performance from the Nanoscale, State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, P.R. China
Yueqing Yang
Affiliation:
Center for Advancing Materials Performance from the Nanoscale, State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, P.R. China
Qinqin Fu
Affiliation:
Center for Advancing Materials Performance from the Nanoscale, State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, P.R. China
Weifeng He
Affiliation:
Science and Technology on Plasma Dynamics Laboratory, Air Force Engineering University, Xi'an 710038, P.R. China
Degang Xie*
Affiliation:
Center for Advancing Materials Performance from the Nanoscale, State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, P.R. China
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: dg_xie@xjtu.edu.cn
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Abstract

The thermal expansion coefficient (CTE) is a vital design parameter for reducing the thermal-stress-induced structural failure of electronic chips/devices. At the micro- and nano-scale, the typical size range of the components in chips/devices, the CTEs are probably different from that of the bulk materials, but an easy and accurate measurement method is still lacking. In this paper, we present a simple but effective method for determining linear CTEs of micro-scale materials only using the prevalent nanoindentation system equipped with a heating stage for precise temperature control. By holding a constant force on the sample surface, while heating the sample at a constant rate, we measure two height–temperature curves at two positions, respectively, which are close to each other but at different heights. The linear CTE is obtained by analyzing the difference of height change during heating. This method can be applied to study the size effect or surface effect of CTE of embedded micro-scale structures, aiding the failure analysis and structural design in the semiconductor industry.

Keywords

micro-scalenanoindentationAlTifilm
Type
Article
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 35 , Issue 23-24 , 14 December 2020 , pp. 3202 - 3209
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020, published on behalf of Materials Research Society by Cambridge University Press

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