Determination of Modulus of Metal Films Using Thermoreflectance

Abstract

The acoustic displacements in a film of indium pressed on to a sapphire wafer were generated by incidence of a Q-switched Nd-YAG laser beam. Acoustic displacements from tungsten film deposited on silicon substrate were also measured by the same technique. Thermoreflectance from a continuous red laser incident on the surface was used simultaneously to measure the acoustic oscillations. The acoustic oscillations were simulated using the solution to the modified wave equation. The acoustic velocity and the modulus of the metal film were determined from the simulation of the experimental results. It is shown that this technique provides a nondestructive method of determination of acoustic velocity and modulus in the metal films.