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Electrical technique for monitoring crack growth in thin-film fracture mechanics specimens

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Abstract

An accurate and reliable electrical technique for continuous monitoring of crack growth in fracture specimens containing technologically relevant thin-film device structures has been developed. Both adhesive and cohesive crack growth measurements are reported using a SiO2 passivation layer and a conducting titanium film deposited on the side face of fracture specimens. Crack velocity measurements approaching 10-12 m/s were achieved, representing nearly an order of magnitude improvement over commonly used compliance-based techniques. The technique may be particularly useful for elucidating near threshold crack velocity behavior, which is important for thin-film reliability.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 94305, USA

    Eric P. Guyer & Reinhold H. Dauskardt

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  1. Eric P. Guyer
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  2. Reinhold H. Dauskardt
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Guyer, E.P., Dauskardt, R.H. Electrical technique for monitoring crack growth in thin-film fracture mechanics specimens. Journal of Materials Research 19, 3139–3144 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1557/JMR.2004.0421

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/JMR.2004.0421

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