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

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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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ceramics Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland, 20899, USA

    Gheorghe Stan & Robert F. Cook

  2. Portland Technology Development, Intel Corporation, Hillsboro, Oregon, 97124, USA

    Sean W. King

Authors
  1. Gheorghe Stan
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  2. Sean W. King
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  3. Robert F. Cook
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Correspondence to Gheorghe Stan.

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Stan, G., King, S.W. & Cook, R.F. Elastic modulus of low-k dielectric thin films measured by load-dependent contact-resonance atomic force microscopy. Journal of Materials Research 24, 2960–2964 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2009.0357

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2009.0357

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