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Fracture of Thin Tantalum Nitride Films on Ain Substrates

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

N. R. Moody ,
D. Medlin  and
D. P. Norwood
N. R. Moody
Affiliation:
Sandia National Laboraties, Livermore, CA 94551–0969
D. Medlin
Affiliation:
Sandia National Laboraties, Livermore, CA 94551–0969
D. P. Norwood
Affiliation:
Sandia National Laboraties, Albuquerque, NM, 87185
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Abstract

Nanoindentation, continuous nanoscratch testing, and transmission electron microscopy were used in this study to determine the structure-property relationships of thin tantalum nitride resistor films on aluminum nitride substrates. The films were sputter-deposited to a nominal thickness of 200 nm during one production run and then tested at room temperature. Most films were uniform in structure and thickness, consisting of fine equiaxed crystallites along the film-substrate interfaces and long columnar grains further away from the interface. However, one film varied greatly in thickness across the substrate. It had large crystallites along the film-substrate interface and clusters of columnar grains. Most importantly, it contained a far greater amount of porosity than the other films. The high porosity content led to significantly lower elastic moduli and hardness values than the low porosity films and a much greater susceptibility to fracture.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 436: Symposium CC – Thin Films Stresses and Mechanical Properties VI , 1996 , 97
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1997

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