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Fatigue behavior of polycrystalline thin copper films

  • O. Kraft EMAIL logo , P. Wellner , M. Hommel , R. Schwaiger and E. Arzt
Published/Copyright: January 31, 2022
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International Journal of Materials Research
From the journal International Journal of Materials Research Volume 93 Issue 5

Abstract

Fatigue, a common damage and failure mechanism in bulk metals, is largely unexplored for thin films. In the present paper, we report on the fatigue behavior of Cu films with thicknesses in the range 0.4– 3.1μm on deformable substrates. Films thicker than 1 μm seem to behave like bulk Cu and follow a Manson-Coffin relationship with a fatigue exponent and ductility of about 0.5 and 20%, respectively. For the sub-micron thick films, a clear size effect is observed: the damage morphology changes and the lifetime increases significantly. Based on a microscopical damage analysis, the following sequence for the fatigue damage evolution in the Cu films is suggested: (i) in large grains, extrusions at the film surface and voids at the interface to the substrate are formed, (ii) cracks are nucleated at these voids and grow towards the film surface, and (iii) cracks connect intergranularly to form a continuous pattern of cracks and extrusions in the film. It is argued that void nucleation is the result of the formation of vacancies due to the annihilation of edge dislocations.

Keywords: Fatigue; Thin films; Size effect
Dr. O. Kraft Max-Planck-Institut für Metallforschung Heisenbergstr. 3, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany Tel.: +49 711 689 3439 Fax: +49 711 689 3412

Enlightening discussions with U. Essmann, H. Mughrabi, and L. M. Brown are gratefully acknowledged. The FIB system was procured from DFG funds (Leibniz programme).

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Received: 2002-02-19
Published Online: 2022-01-31

© 2002 Carl Hanser Verlag, München

Articles in the same Issue

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  2. Editorial
  3. Editorial
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  7. Solid state phase transformation kinetics: a modular transformation model
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  10. Magnetic imaging with full-field soft X-ray microscopy
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  12. Fatigue behavior of polycrystalline thin copper films
  13. Grain growth in magnetron-sputtered nickel films
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  15. Coupled grain boundary and surface diffusion in a polycrystalline thin film constrained by substrate
  16. Gallium segregation at grain boundaries in aluminium
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  18. Bonding between Cu and α-Al2O3
  19. Compressive deformation of niobium sandwich-bonded to alumina
  20. SiO2-coated carbon nanotubes: theory and experiment
  21. Simulation of solidification structures of binary alloys
  22. Gaseous nitriding of iron-chromium alloys
  23. Deposition of ceramic materials from aqueous solution induced by organic templates
  24. Notifications/Mitteilungen
  25. Personen
  26. Books
  27. Information
  28. DGM Further Training
https://doi.org/10.3139/ijmr-2002-0068
Keywords for this article
Fatigue; Thin films; Size effect

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Editorial
  3. Editorial
  4. Max-Planck-Institut für Metallforschung
  5. Articles/Aufsätze
  6. Towards a micromechanical understanding of biological surface devices
  7. Solid state phase transformation kinetics: a modular transformation model
  8. Electronic structure investigations of Ni and Cr films on (100)SrTiO3 substrates using electron energy-loss spectroscopy
  9. Surface magnetization reversal of sputtered CrO2
  10. Magnetic imaging with full-field soft X-ray microscopy
  11. Dislocation dynamics in sub-micron confinement: recent progress in Cu thin film plasticity
  12. Fatigue behavior of polycrystalline thin copper films
  13. Grain growth in magnetron-sputtered nickel films
  14. Thin Pd films on SrTiO3 (001) substrates: ab initio local-density-functional theory
  15. Coupled grain boundary and surface diffusion in a polycrystalline thin film constrained by substrate
  16. Gallium segregation at grain boundaries in aluminium
  17. Current work at the Stuttgart UHV diffusion bonding facility
  18. Bonding between Cu and α-Al2O3
  19. Compressive deformation of niobium sandwich-bonded to alumina
  20. SiO2-coated carbon nanotubes: theory and experiment
  21. Simulation of solidification structures of binary alloys
  22. Gaseous nitriding of iron-chromium alloys
  23. Deposition of ceramic materials from aqueous solution induced by organic templates
  24. Notifications/Mitteilungen
  25. Personen
  26. Books
  27. Information
  28. DGM Further Training
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