A kinetic model for stress generation in thin films grown from energetic vapor fluxes
- Brown Univ., Providence, RI (United States). School of Engineering
- Univ. of Poitiers and National School of Mechanics and Aerotechnics (ENSMA), CNRS, Chasseneuil-du-Poitou (France). Inst. P (Pprime) and Dept. of Physics and Mechanics of Materials
- Linkoping Univ. (Sweden). Nanoscale Engineering Division and Dept. of Physics, Chemistry and Biology
We have developed a kinetic model for residual stress generation in thin films grown from energetic vapor fluxes, encountered, e.g., during sputter deposition. This new analytical model considers sub-surface point defects created by atomic peening, along with processes treated in already existing stress models for non-energetic deposition, i.e., thermally activated diffusion processes at the surface and the grain boundary. According to the new model, ballistically induced subsurface defects can get incorporated as excess atoms at the grain boundary, remain trapped in the bulk, or annihilate at the free surface, resulting in a complex dependence of the steady-state stress on the grain size, the growth rate, as well as the energetics of the incoming particle flux. We compare calculations from the model with in situ stress measurements performed on a series of Mo films sputter-deposited at different conditions and having different grain sizes. The model is able to reproduce the observed increase of compressive stress with increasing growth rate, behavior that is the opposite of what is typically seen under non-energetic growth conditions. On a grander scale, this study is a step towards obtaining a comprehensive understanding of stress generation and evolution in vapor deposited polycrystalline thin films.
- Research Organization:
- Brown Univ., Providence, RI (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0008799
- OSTI ID:
- 1470756
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1247217
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 119, Issue 14; ISSN 0021-8979
- Publisher:
- American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
Similar Records
Intrinsic stress in ZrN thin films: Evaluation of grain boundary contribution from in situ wafer curvature and ex situ x-ray diffraction techniques
Growth stress buildup in ion beam sputtered Mo thin films and comparative study of stress relaxation upon thermal annealing or ion irradiation