Investigation of SiO2 thin films on Si substrates for use as standards for laser-acoustic measuring devices

Abstract

Abstract We report on an investigation of the suitability of SiO2 thin films for use as calibration standards for the measurement of elastic modulus by laser-acoustic measuring devices. Film thicknesses for a range of thin film standards, originally developed for the calibration of ellipsometers, were obtained by X-ray reflectometry, ellipsometry, and metrological scanning force microscopy. Using the calibrated values of film thickness, a laser-acoustic method was used to obtain the elastic moduli of the thin films. Nanoindentation of the films, performed at two different laboratories was used to provide an independent measure of the elastic modulus values. The modulus values determined by nanoindentation and the laser-acoustic method were found to agree within 4.6 %, which was within the calculated uncertainty of the measurements performed. As a result of their high homogeneity with respect to film thickness and elastic modulus, their low surface roughness and the good laser-acoustic signal quality, the thin films investigated appear to hold promise as standards for laser-acoustic measuring devices.