Nanoindentation hardness of Ge50In4Ga13Se33 chalcogenide glass thin films

Chalcogenide glass semiconductors are widely used in microelectronic, solar cell and other electro-mechanical applications. The mechanical characteristics of Ge ₅₀In ₄Ga ₁₃Se ₃₃ chalcogenide thin films were investigated using the nanoindentation technique and correlated with their structure and thickness. The amorphous nature of Ge ₅₀In ₄Ga ₁₃Se ₃₃ films of different thicknesses was assured using X-ray diffraction. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements were performed for the structure and surface morphology analysis of Ge ₅₀In ₄Ga ₁₃Se ₃₃ films with thicknesses of 376, 538 and 745 nm. The thickness dependence of hardness ( H ) and Young`s modulus ( E ) of Ge <sub>50</sub>In <sub>4</sub>Ga <sub>13</sub>Se <sub>33</sub> thin films was analyzed. The results showed that the surface roughness ( R a ) and root mean square roughness ( R q ) decreased with increasing film thickness. The mechanical characteristics of Ge <sub>50</sub>In <sub>4</sub>Ga <sub>13</sub>Se <sub>33</sub> amorphous films as hardness and Young`s modulus increased from 2.13 ± 0.13 to 3.23 ± 0.20 GPa and from 57.99 ± 1.53 to 91.42 ± 3.12 GPa, respectively. The obtained results ( H ) and ( E ) were well correlated with the AFM observations.