Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-14T23:42:53.020Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Elastic modulus of low-k dielectric thin films measured by load-dependent contact-resonance atomic force microscopy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

Gheorghe Stan ,
Sean W. King  and
Robert F. Cook
Gheorghe Stan*
Affiliation:
Ceramics Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899
Sean W. King
Affiliation:
Portland Technology Development, Intel Corporation, Hillsboro, Oregon 97124
Robert F. Cook
Affiliation:
Ceramics Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899
*
a) Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: gheorghe.stan@nist.gov
Get access

Abstract

Correlated force and contact resonance versus displacement responses have been resolved using load-dependent contact-resonance atomic force microscopy (AFM) to determine the elastic modulus of low-k dielectric thin films. The measurements consisted of recording simultaneously both the deflection and resonance frequency shift of an AFM cantilever probe as the probe was gradually brought in and out of contact. As the applied forces were restricted to the range of adhesive forces, low-k dielectric films of elastic modulus varying from GPa to hundreds of GPa were measurable in this investigation. Over this elastic modulus range, the reliability of load-dependent contact-resonance AFM measurements was confirmed by comparing these results with those from picosecond laser acoustic measurements.

Keywords

Elastic propertiesNanoscaleScanning-probe microscopy (SPM)
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 24 , Issue 9 , September 2009 , pp. 2960 - 2964
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1Binning, G., Quate, C.F. and Gerber, C.: Atomic force microscope. Phys. Rev. Lett. 56, 930 (1986).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2Rabe, U., Janser, K. and Arnold, W.: Vibrations of free and surface-coupled atomic force microscope cantilevers: Theory and experiment. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 67, 3281 (1996).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3Yamanaka, K. and Nakano, S.: Ultrasonic atomic force microscope with overtone excitation of cantilever. Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 35, 3787 (1996).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4Kolosov, O. and Yamanaka, K.: Nonlinear detection of ultrasonic vibrations in an atomic force microscope. Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 32, L1095 (1993).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5Sahin, O., Magonov, S., Su, C., Quate, C.F. and Solgaard, O.: An atomic force microscope tip designed to measure time-varying nanomechanical forces. Nat. Nanotechnol. 2, 507 (2007).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6Stan, G., Krylyuk, S., Davydov, A., Vaudin, M., Bendersky, L.A. and Cook, R.F.: Surface effects on the elastic modulus of Te nanowires. Appl. Phys. Lett. 92, 241908 (2008).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7Stan, G. and Cook, R.F.: Mapping the elastic properties of granular Au films by contact resonance atomic force microscopy. Nano-technology 19, 235701 (2008).Google ScholarPubMed
8Rabe, U., Amelio, S., Kopycinska, M., Hirsekorn, S., Kempf, M., Goken, M. and Arnold, W.: Imaging and measurement of local mechanical material properties by atomic force acoustic microscopy. Surf. Interface Anal. 33, 65 (2002).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9Hurley, D.C., Shen, K., Jennett, N.M. and Turner, J.A.: Atomic force acoustic microscopy methods to determine thin-film elastic properties. J. Appl. Phys. 94, 2347 (2003).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10Ducker, W.D., Cook, R.F. and Clarke, D.R.: Force measurement using an ac atomic force microscope. J. Appl. Phys. 67, 4045 (1990).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11Gotsmann, B. and Fuchs, H.: Dynamic force spectroscopy of conservative and dissipative forces in an Al–Au(111) tip-sample system. Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 2597 (2001).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
12Hölscher, H., Langkat, S.M., Schwarz, A. and Wiesendanger, R.: Measurement of three-dimensional force fields with atomic resolution using dynamic force spectroscopy. Appl. Phys. Lett. 81, 4428 (2002).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
13Wang, L., Ganor, M., Rokhlin, S.I. and Grill, A.: Nanoindentation analysis of mechanical properties of low to ultralow-dielectric constant SiCOH films. J. Mater. Res. 20, 2080 (2005).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
14Morris, D.J. and Cook, R.F.: Indentation fracture of low-dielectric constant films: Part I. Experiments and observations. J. Mater. Res. 23, 2429 (2008).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
15Antonelli, G.A., Perrin, B., Daly, B.C. and Cahill, D.G.: Characterization of mechanical and thermal properties using ultrafast optical metrology. MRS Bull. 31, 607 (2006).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16Link, A., Sooryakumar, R., Bandhu, R.S. and Antonelli, G.A.: Brillouin light scattering studies of the mechanical properties of ultrathin low-k dielectric films. Appl. Phys. 100, 013507 (2006).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
17Chason, E. and Mayer, T.M.: Thin film and surface characterization by specular x-ray reflectivity. Crit. Rev. Solid State Mater. Sci. 22, 1 (1997).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
18Worsley, M.A., Roberts, M., Bent, S.F., Gates, S.M., Shaw, T., Volksen, W. and Miller, R.: Detection of open or closed porosity in low-k dielectrics by solvent diffusion. Microelectron. Eng. 82, 113 (2005).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
19Johnson, K.L.: Contact Mechanics (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1996), p. 84.Google Scholar
20Johnson, K.L., Kendall, K. and Roberts, A.D.: Surface energy and the contact of elastic solids. Proc. R. Soc. London, Ser. A 324, 301 (1971).Google Scholar
21Derjaguin, B.V., Müller, V.M. and Toporov, Y.P.: Effect of contact deformations on the adhesion of particles. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 53, 314 (1975).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
22Kopycinska-Müller, M., Geiss, R.H. and Hurley, D.C.: Contact mechanics and tip shape in AFM-based nanomechanical measurements. Ultramicroscopy 106, 466 (2006).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
23Vlassak, J.J. and Nix, W.D.: Indentation modulus of elastically anisotropic half-spaces. Philos. Mag. A 67, 1045 (1993).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
24Vincent, A., Babu, S. and Seal, S.: Surface elastic properties of porous nanosilica coatings by scanning force microscopy. Appl. Phys. Lett. 91, 161901 (2007).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
25Balantekin, M., Onaran, A.G. and Degertekin, F.L.: Quantitative mechanical characterization of materials at the nanoscale through direct measurement of time-resolved tip-sample interaction forces. Nanotechnology 19, 085704 (2008).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
26Solares, S.D. and Chawla, G.: Dual frequency modulation with two cantilevers in series: A possible means to rapidly acquire tip-sample interaction force curves with dynamic AFM. Meas. Sci. Technol. 19, 055502 (2008).CrossRefGoogle Scholar