Understanding the Origins of Residual Stress in Thin Films Through Measurements and Modeling

Numerous studies of residual stress have shown that it is affected by many factors. In this review, examples are described from different material types (metals and metal-nitrides), deposition methods (evaporation, electrodeposition, sputtering), processing conditions (temperature, growth rate, pressure) and microstructural evolution. An analytical model is described based on fundamental stress-generating mechanisms informed by the experimental studies. The equations are based on underlying physical processes and describe the evolution of the stress-induced wafer curvature. Fitting the model to experiments produces a set of kinetic parameters that can be used to predict the stress under different conditions. The program for fitting the data (KMORFS) is available to interested users.