Advances in thin film deposition technologies and material development has enabled a wide range of industrial applications. Examples of this are very evident in the semiconductor/microelectronics, display, energy, and many others industries. Decreasing film thicknesses and material/manufacturing complexities pose increasing challenges for industrial engineers and process control in the evaluation of mechanical properties. Control of these ultra-thin films are extremely essential and present a challenge in measuring mechanical properties with highly precise force, displacement, and positioning control.
This has created a need for process grade metrology instrumentation with significantly enhanced precision in measuring a wide range of mechanical properties. Hardness, modulus, interfacial adhesion, fracture toughness, and temperature are just some of the mechanical property measurements that become significantly more difficult in such thin films.
Pal-Jen Wei, Ph.D., Bruker