Abstract
In electronic devices and magnetic disks, thin films are used in the form of films coated on substrates. In order to improve their mechanical reliability, it is necessary to evaluate the fracture strength of a thin film which is coated on a substrate. However, methods for evaluating it have not yet been established. In this paper, a method is proposed for evaluating fracture strength of thin films by means of indentation with a small spherical indenter, and usefulness of the method was investigated. A SiO2 film coated on a stainless steel SUS440C plate by ion beam sputtering was indented with a SiC spherical indenter. The fracture strength of the film was evaluated by combining the ring crack initiation load obtained experimentally and the result of finite-element method (FEM) analysis.
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