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

Published

September 14, 2009

Author(s)

Gheorghe Stan, Sean King, Robert F. Cook

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 contactresonance AFM measurements was confirmed by comparing these results with that from picosecond laser acoustics measurements.

Citation

Journal of Materials Research

Volume

24

Issue

9

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

nanomechanical properties, atomic force microscopy, low-k dielectric films

Citation

Stan, G. , King, S. and Cook, R. (2009), Elastic modulus of low-k dielectric thin films measured by load-dependent contact-resonance atomic force microscopy, Journal of Materials Research, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=902329 (Accessed October 11, 2025)