Characterization of Mechanical Properties of Thin Films by Nanoindentation Technique and Finite Element Simulation

Abstract

Titanium thin films have been widely used in microelectronics due to their good adhesion to substrates, such as Silicon wafer and Quartz. However, mechanical behavior of Titanium thin films has not been well characterized. This paper presents a methodology that combines the nanoindentation technique and finite element modeling to characterize the mechanical (elastic and plastic) properties of thin film with its application on Titanium thin film deposited on silicon substrate. The results show that the elastic properties (Young’s modulus) of the Titanium thin film does not change much from the bulk Titanium, and the plastic properties (yield stress and strain hardening exponent) of the Titanium thin film are higher than those of bulk Titanium. This method is also applicable for the study of mechanical properties of other thin films and small volume materials.