Evaluation of interfacial strength by multi-stages peel test

Multi-layer thin films are widely used in micro-sensor and microelectronics products. These electronic devices contain several metal or polymer thin films and reliability of these systems is strongly dependent on the interfacial adhesion of these thin films. Due to the thermal stress, residual stress or elastic mismatch, the delamination between layers sometimes occurs. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the interfacial strength precisely. Peel tests are simple way to estimate an interfacial strength and, in fact, widely used in industrial field. Recently, a new simple but functional device for peel tests has developed in our group. This test method is called "Multi-stages peel test". There are two features in this device. At first, peeling tips can be observed continually and it becomes easy to measure a peeling angle. Second is that the peeling angle can be varied by attaching dead weights on the specimen. This dead weight works as a shear force at the peeling tip and the peeling angle can be changed variously. Therefore, the fracture tests under various phase angles are possible. In this paper, Multi-stages peel test is applied to the evaluation of interface strength of multi-layer thin films that are composed of Cu, Cr, PI and Si layers. By considering the energy balance during the peel test, the interfacial strength independent of the thickness can be obtained.