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Role of friction and loading parameters in four-point bend adhesion measurements

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Abstract

The effects of salient testing parameters on four-point adhesion measurements of thin-film structures on silicon substrates were systematically studied. These included specimen geometry, applied displacement rate, and load point separation. Measured fracture energy values, Gc, were observed to increase as the ratio of applied moment arm to specimen thickness was decreased beyond a value of ∼4, particularly for specimens with Gc > 5 J/m2. Testing parameters that affect the steady-state crack velocity were also found to affect reported Gc values. The resulting trends in Gc values are shown to be related to loading-point friction and environmentally assisted cracking effects. Good practice testing guidelines are suggested to improve the accuracy and precision of four-point bend measurements.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Director, Office of Energy Research, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Science Division of the United States Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-FG03-95ER45543A009. Materials and fellowship support for DMG were provided by the Applied Materials Corporation, Santa Clara, CA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 94305-2205, USA

    David M. Gage, Christopher S. Litteken & Reinhold H. Dauskardt

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 94305-2205, USA

    Kyunghoon Kim

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  1. David M. Gage
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  2. Kyunghoon Kim
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  3. Christopher S. Litteken
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  4. Reinhold H. Dauskardt
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Correspondence to Reinhold H. Dauskardt.

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Gage, D.M., Kim, K., Litteken, C.S. et al. Role of friction and loading parameters in four-point bend adhesion measurements. Journal of Materials Research 23, 87–96 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1557/JMR.2008.0001

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/JMR.2008.0001

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