Measurement of Elastic Modulus and Residual Stress of Diamond Thin Films

Abstract

Despite great advancements in diamond thin film growth and deposition techniques, determination of the residual stress and Young’s modulus for diamond films has continued to be a challenge. The bulge test is a potentially powerful tool for characterizing the mechanical properties of diamond film. In a bulge tester, pressure is applied on a thin membrane and the out-of-plane deflection of the membrane center is measured. The Young’s Modulus and the residual stress are simultaneously determined by using the load-deflection behavior of a membrane. By means of electron-enhanced hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD), a diamond film was deposited on silicon slice (100), and the free-standing window sample of diamond thin films was fabricated by means of photolithography and anisotropic wet etching. The deflection of the membranes is measured using a laser interferometry system. The elastic modulus and residual stress were measured using a self-designed bulge equipment. In addition, the distortion of diamond thin films under different pressure was simulated using finite element analysis and the contrast was made with experimental data. The research indicated that the Young’s Modulus of diamond thin films is 937.8GPa and the residual stress is -10.53MPa. The elastic modulus and the residual stress coincide with the report in the literature and the value tested by X-ray diffraction, respectively. This method uses a simple apparatus, and the fabrication of samples is very easy, and it has provided an effective means for precise measure the mechanical properties of other thin films.