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Strength of Ultrananocrystalline Diamond Thin films – Identification of Weibull Parameters

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

B. Peng
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University Evanston, IL 60208-3111, USA
N. Moldovan
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University Evanston, IL 60208-3111, USA
X. Xiao
Affiliation:
Materials Science and Experimental Facilities Divisions, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439, USA
O. Auciello
Affiliation:
Materials Science and Experimental Facilities Divisions, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439, USA
J.A. Carlisle
Affiliation:
Materials Science and Experimental Facilities Divisions, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439, USA
D.M. Gruen
Affiliation:
Materials Science and Experimental Facilities Divisions, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439, USA
R.S. Divan
Affiliation:
Materials Science and Experimental Facilities Divisions, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439, USA
D.C. Mancini
Affiliation:
Materials Science and Experimental Facilities Divisions, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439, USA
J.E. Gerbi
Affiliation:
Materials Science and Experimental Facilities Divisions, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439, USA
J. Birrell
Affiliation:
Materials Science and Experimental Facilities Divisions, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439, USA
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Abstract

The fracture strength of ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) thin films, grown by microwaveplasma- enhanced chemical-vapor deposition (PECVD), was measured using the membrane deflection experiment (MDE) developed by Espinosa and coworkers. The data show that UNCD fracture strength appears to follow a Weibull distribution. Furthermore, we show that the Weibull parameters are highly dependent on the seeding process used in the growth of the films. When seeding was performed with micron-size diamond particles, using mechanical polishing of the substrate, the stress, resulting in a probability of failure of 67%, was found to be 1.74 GPa, and the Weibull modulus was 5.74. By contrast, when seeding was performed with nano-size diamond particles, using ultrasonic agitation, the stress, resulting in a probability of failure of 67%, increased to 4.13 GPa and the Weibull modulus was 10.76. The investigation highlights the role of microfabrication defects on material properties and reliability, as a function of seeding technique, when identical PECVD chemistry is employed. The parameters identified in this study are expected to aid the designer of MEMS/NEMS devices employing UNCD films.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2002

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