Fracture properties of PECVD silicon nitride thin films by long rectangular memrane bulge test

Author

Zhou, Wei ; Yang, Jinling ; Li, Yan ; Ji, An ; Yang, Fuhua

Author_Institution

Inst. of Semicond., Chinese Acad. of Sci., Beijing

fYear

2008

fDate

6-9 Jan. 2008

Firstpage

261

Lastpage

264

Abstract

Bulge test combined with a refined load-deflection model for long rectangular membrane was applied to determine the mechanical and fracture properties of PECVD silicon nitride (SiN_x) thin films. Plane-strain modulus E_ps, prestress s₀, and fracture strength s_max of SiN_x thin films deposited both on bare Si substrate and on SiO₂-topped Si substrate were extracted. The SiN_x thin films on different substrates possess similar values of E_ps and s₀, but quite different values of s_max. The statistical analysis of fracture strengths were performed by Weibull distribution function and the fracture origins were further predicted.

Keywords

Weibull distribution; Young´s modulus; dielectric thin films; fracture toughness; fracture toughness testing; micromechanical devices; plasma CVD; silicon; silicon compounds; stress analysis; MEMS; PECVD silicon nitride thin films; SiN; SiO₂-Si; Weibull distribution function; fracture properties; fracture strength; load-deflection model; long rectangular membrane bulge test; mechanical properties; plane-strain modulus; statistical analysis; thin film deposition; Biomembranes; Load modeling; Mechanical factors; Semiconductor thin films; Silicon compounds; Sputtering; Statistical analysis; Testing; Transistors; Weibull distribution; Bulge test; Fracture property; Silicon nitride; Weibull distribution function;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Nano/Micro Engineered and Molecular Systems, 2008. NEMS 2008. 3rd IEEE International Conference on

Conference_Location

Sanya

Print_ISBN

978-1-4244-1907-4

Electronic_ISBN

978-1-4244-1908-1

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/NEMS.2008.4484331

Filename

4484331