Fundamental studies of the mechanical behavior of microelectronic thin film materials

A fundamental program of research on the mechanical properties of microelectronic thin film material has been initiated at Stanford University. The work is being supported under AFOSR Grant No. 86-0051. In this interim Scientific Report, some of the progress made during the first year of the program is reviewed. We have made very rapid progress,expecially in the development of new experimental techniques for measuring mechanical properties. The work has already led to several publications and to an equal number of invited oral presentations, both of which are listed at the end of this report. The primary motivation of this work is to understand the mechanical properties of microelectronic this film materials. Although these materials are not structural materials as such, they are, nevertheless, expected to withstand very high stresses, both during manufacturing and in service. As a consequence, the mechanical properties of these materials are almost as important as their electronic properties for successful device applicaitions. because these materials often exist only as thin films bonded to substrates, it is necessary to study their mechanical properties in that state.