Combined experimental and numerical approach for investigating the mechanical degradation of the interface between thin film metallization and Si-substrate after temperature cycling test

The thin film metallization, as a key structure of the semiconductor devices, realizes the bond-ability of the chips on circuit carriers and directly influences the electrical and mechanical reliability of the interconnection. In a previous study, a recently developed method, cross-sectional nanoindentations (CSN), has been utilized to characterize the adhesion strength degradation of the thin film metallization and its feasibility has been proved. In this paper, based on the now extended CSN test results from the previous study, a combined experimental and numerical approach with a cohesive zone model (CZM) is developed in order to evaluate the adhesion strength degradation of the thin film metallization quantitatively by means of the critical strain energy release rate Gc and therefore t o obtain a measure with physical meaning and extrapolation ability.