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Time-dependent deformation behavior of freestanding and SiNx-supported gold thin films investigated by bulge tests

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 July 2015

Benoit Merle*
Affiliation:
Materials Science & Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Institute I, D-91058 Erlangen, Germany
Detlev Cassel
Affiliation:
Hochschule Kaiserslautern, Standort Zweibrücken, D-66482 Zweibrücken, Germany
Mathias Göken
Affiliation:
Materials Science & Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Institute I, D-91058 Erlangen, Germany
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: benoit.merle@fau.de
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Abstract

A novel strain-rate jump method was developed for the plane-strain bulge test and used to investigate the time-dependent deformation behavior of gold thin films in the thickness range 100–400 nm. The experimental method is based on an abrupt variation of the pressurization rate. The evaluated strain-rate sensitivity was found to be five times higher for films in freestanding condition (m = 0.094) than for films tested on a SiNx substrate (m = 0.020). Bulge creep tests confirmed this increased time-dependence. The observation of the surface of the freestanding films after the creep tests provided evidence of apparent grain boundary sliding taking place next to intragranular plastic deformation. The out-of-plane deformation was presumably favored by the columnar microstructure of the samples, with grains extending between both free surfaces. In the case of SiNx-supported films, grain boundary sliding was prevented by the good adhesion of gold to the SiNx substrate.

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Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2015 

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References

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