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Abstract
The increase of a surface area-to-volume ratio with the reduction of material dimensions significantly alters the characteristics of materials from their macroscopic status. Therefore, efforts have been made to establish evaluation techniques for nanoscale films. While contact mechanics-based techniques are conventionally available, non-contact and nondestructive methods would be preferable in case damages left on a sample after testing are not desirable, or an in situ assessment is required. In the present study, the Young’s modulus of an aluminum thin-film was evaluated using two different laser optical measurement techniques. First, microscale beam testing has been performed so that the resonant frequency change of a microfabricated cantilever beam induced by coating of a 153 nm thick aluminum layer on its top surface can be detected using a laser interferometer in order to evaluate the mechanical property through modal analysis using the finite element method. Second, picosecond ultrasonics were employed for cross-verification so that the mechanical characteristics can be evaluated through the investigation of the longitudinal bulk wave propagation behavior. Results show that the Young’s moduli from both measurements agree well with each other within 3.3% error, proving that the proposed techniques are highly effective for the study of nanoscale films.
Highlights
Thin films are widely used in the manufacturing of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)sensors/actuators and the next-generation semiconductor memory devices, such as dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) and 3D NAND flash memory
Allaser thin-film was evaluated in non-contact and nondestructive nondestructive ways using different optical measurement techniques
Theoffrequency responses were examined from the laser interferometer, and the mechanical property was calculated through the finite element through the fast Fourier transform of time domain waveforms obtained from the laser interferometer, analysis for the property first‐ and was second‐order flexural vibration modes
Summary
Thin films are widely used in the manufacturing of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)sensors/actuators and the next-generation semiconductor memory devices, such as dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) and 3D NAND flash memory. With the miniaturization of devices, the feature size reduces down to the low nanometer length scale and it raises issues in mechanical reliability during microfabrication because material properties of thin films are not essentially identical to those in their macroscopic form due to the increase of a surface area-to-volume ratio. The gas flow rates of ammonia (NH3 ) and dichlorosilane (SiH2 Cl2 ) during low pressure chemical vapor deposition of silicon nitride (Si3 N4 ) influence the Young’s modulus and residual stress of the film [1]. The radio frequency power of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition affects the thermal diffusivity of a hydrogenated amorphous carbon film [2]. Studies have been performed to understand the material behavior of thin-films.
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