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

This paper reports on the results of comparing different types of tensile testing methods that are used to evaluate thin-film properties. We tested the same material fabricated on a single wafer using different testing techniques at five different research institutions. The testing methods were different in the way the specimen was gripped. Materials tested were single-crystal silicon (SCS), polysilicon, nickel, and titanium films. Specimens with 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 of all the testing methods were in good agreement with each other, thus demonstrating their accuracy.