Journal
SENSORS AND ACTUATORS A-PHYSICAL
Volume 317, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA
DOI: 10.1016/j.sna.2020.112456
Keywords
Bulge testing; Residual stress; Fracture strength; Silicon nitride; Membrane
Funding
- Industrial Partnership Programme X-tools [741.018.301]
- Dutch Research Council (NWO)
- ASML
- Carl Zeiss SMT
- Malvern Panalytical
- Province Overijssel
Ask authors/readers for more resources
By creating compressive residual stress at the membrane surface, the maximum stress induced by the applied pressure was reduced and the fracture strength of the Si3N4 was increased. As a result, membranes with a compressive surface showed a 50% increase in pressure limit.
In this work, the effect of compressive surface stress on thin film membrane fracture was studied by bulge test. In order to create membranes with compressive residual stress at the surface, low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) Si3N4 membranes were coated with a 1-8 nm compressive SiNx adlayer or subjected to Ar-ion bombardment. Fracture strength analysis, done using finite element method and Weibull distribution, and microscope inspection of failed membranes showed that the pressure limit of the membranes is determined by the intrinsic fracture mode, caused by high stress induced at the membrane edge near the top surface. By creating compressive residual stress at the membrane surface, the maximum stress induced by the applied pressure was reduced and the fracture strength of the Si3N4 was increased from 17.3 GPa to 18.3 GPa. As a result, membranes with a compressive surface showed a 50 % increase in pressure limit, from 5 kPa/nm to 7.5 kPa/nm. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available