Effect of the adhesion strength of Si and Ge superlattices Original Research Article

In this study, we employed scanning probe microscopy (SPM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to investigate the interfacial adhesion strength of thermally treated SiGe superlattice thin films. From the SPM measurements, we deduced that the adhesive strength was related to the thermal treatment temperature; we applied critical loads ranging from 2000 to 6000 μm to quantify both the thermal stability and the interfacial adhesion strength. The adhesive performance of the thermally treated samples was superior to that of the sample maintained at room temperature, due to the former films having softened as a result of plastic deformation and decreased strain energy. TEM analysis revealed that the microstructures of the SiGe superlattices were relatively defected after thermal treatment, contributing to their greater oscillation variations.