Determination of the Young's Modulus of a TiN Thin Film by Nanoindentation: Analytical Models and FEM Simulation

The Young's modulus of a titanium nitride thin film has been investigated in this study by means of nanoindentation technique. Nanoindentation measurements have been coupled to analytical models and finite elements simulation to decorrelate the effect of substrate from the Young's modulus evaluation. Whereas analytical models did not lead to a converging solution towards experimental measurements, an identification based on finite elements calculations is shown necessary. Simulated contact stiffness versus contact areas have been fit with experiments and have led to a Young's modulus of 200 +/- 20 GPa for a 180 nm thin film of TiN deposited on a < 100 > silicon substrate. This study confirms the property of the TiN deposited in thin films to have a different Young's modulus from a bulk TiN.