Review of Mechanical Characterization Techniques for Thin Films Used in Flexible Electronics

Until the past few years, failure of flexible devices has mostly been studied through performance tests or durability tests under cyclic loading but as they rapidly grow into mainstream products it has become mandatory to find the underlying reasons resulting in their failure towards fabrication of reliable and longer lasting devices. Failure of flexible devices can be attributed to either failure of individual layers or interface failure. This article covers characterization techniques for measuring interfacial adhesion and mechanical properties of thin films, specifically those on flexible substrates.