Micro-scale delaminating and buckling of thin film on soft substrate

Abstract

In this paper, a simple process is suggested to estimate the interfacial toughness of the material system ‘aluminum film/soft PDMS substrate’. The specimen, i.e. the aluminum film deposited on the soft polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate, is subject to a tensile load, and delaminating and buckling of aluminum film are observed in the perpendicular direction to the tensile strain. With the aid of the buckling blisters, the interfacial toughness of the material system is estimated. Large deformation is considered during the buckling of the thin film, and the interfacial toughness is deduced from a fracture theory. Besides, the evolution from one single blister to three blisters and then four blisters is observed in situ under microscope. This simplified method has potential applications to flexible electronics in which interfacial toughness of the metal film/soft substrate must be well controlled.