Cross comparison of thin film tensile-testing methods examined with single-crystal silicon, polysilicon, nickel, and titanium films

This paper reports the results of a comparison of the different types of tensile testing methods used to evaluate thin films properties. We tested the same material fabricated on a single wafer using different testing techniques at five different research institutions. The testing methods are different in the way of gripping the specimen. Materials tested were single-crystal silicon, polysilicon, nickel, and titanium films. Specimens of three different shapes were processed through the same fabrication steps. The tensile strength, fracture strain, and Young's modulus of the films were measured and compared. The measured values of the mechanical properties were in good agreement with each other among the testing methods, thus demonstrating the accuracy of these testing methods.