Plastic properties of thin films on substrates as measured by submicron indentation hardness and substrate curvature techniques

Substrate curvature and submicron indentation measurements have been used recently to study plastic deformation in thin films on substrates. In the present work both of these techniques have been employed to study the strength of aluminum and tungsten thin films on silicon substrates. In the case of aluminum films on silicon substrates, the film strength is found to increase with decreasing thickness. Grain size variations with film thickness do not account for the variations in strength. Wafer curvature measurements give strengths higher than those predicted from hardness measurements suggesting the substrate plays a role in strengthening the film. The observed strengthening effect with decreased thickness may be due to image forces on dislocations in the film due to the elastically stiffer silicon substrate. For sputtered tungsten films, where the substrate is less stiff than the film, the film strength decreases with decreasing film thickness.