Effects of diffusion on interfacial fracture of gold-chromium hybrid microcircuit films

In this study, the effects of diffusion on gold-chromium film durability was determined from interfacial fracture energy measurements on laboratory samples aged to simulate long term service. The samples were prepared by sputter deposition of gold films and chromium adhesive layers on sapphire substrates. Some films were left in the as-deposited condition while others were given an accelerated age to drive the chromium off the interface and into the gold film. Stressed overlayers and nanoindentation were then used to induce interfacial delamination and blister formation from which interfacial fracture energies were determined using mechanics-based models. These tests showed that the fracture energies for interfacial failure of the as-deposited and annealed films occurred near 1.3 J m−2 even when diffusion had driven all chromium into solution. These results clearly demonstrate that chromium in solution is as effective in promoting adhesion as continuous chromium adhesive layers.