Tailoring the chemo-mechanical properties of metal-dielectric interfaces is crucial for many applications including nanodevice wiring, packaging, composites, and catalysis. Here, we combine moisture-induced fracture tests, electron spectroscopy, and density functional theory calculations to reveal fracture toughness partitioning and atomistic delamination mechanisms at copper-silica interfaces. Copper plasticity is supported above a threshold work of adhesion and delamination occurs by moisture-induced Cu-O bond scission in Cu-O-Si bridges. These results provide insights into the effects of the nature of metal-oxygen bonding on moisture-induced delamination of metal-dielectric interfaces.
REFERENCES
1.
M.
Ruhle
, A. H.
Heuer
, A. G.
Evans
, and M. F.
Ashby
, Acta Metall. Mater.
40
, S1
(1992
).2.
M.
Lane
, R. H.
Dauskardt
, N.
Krishna
, and I.
Hashim
, J. Mater. Res.
15
, 203
(2000
).3.
J. W.
Hutchinson
and Z.
Suo
, Adv. App. Mech.
29
, 63
, 1992
.4.
A.
Jain
, B.
Singh
, S.
Garg
, N.
Ravishankar
, M.
Lane
, and G.
Ramanath
, Phys. Rev. B
83
, 035412
(2011
).5.
J. C.
Card
, R. M.
Cannon
, E.
Saiz
, A. P.
Tomsia
, and R. O.
Ritchie
, J. Appl. Phys.
102
, 053516
(2007
).6.
J. J.
Kruzic
, J. M.
McNaney
, R. M.
Cannon
, and R. O.
Ritchie
, Mech. Mater.
36
, 57
(2004
).7.
K.
Nagao
, J. B.
Neaton
, and N. W.
Ashcroft
, Phys. Rev. B
68
, 125403
(2003
).8.
M. Z.
Pang
and S. P.
Baker
, J. Mater. Res.
20
, 2420
(2005
).9.
D. D.
Gandhi
, M.
Lane
, Y.
Zhou
, A. P.
Singh
, S.
Nayak
, U.
Tisch
, M.
Eizenberg
, and G.
Ramanath
, Nature
447
, 299
(2007
).10.
P. G.
Ganesan
, A. P.
Singh
, and G.
Ramanath
, Appl. Phys. Lett.
85
, 579
(2004
).11.
Q.
Ma
, J. Mater. Res.
12
, 840
(1997
).12.
M. P.
Hughey
, D. J.
Morris
, R. F.
Cook
, S. P.
Bozeman
, B. L.
Kelly
, S. L. N.
Chakravarty
, D. P.
Harkens
, and L. C.
Stearns
, Eng. Fract. Mech.
71
, 245
(2004
).13.
G. C.
Bond
, Catal. Today
72
, 5
(2002
).14.
B. R
Lawn
, Fracture of Brittle Solids
(Cambridge University Press
, UK
, 1993
).15.
R. F.
Cook
and E. G.
Liniger
, J. Am. Ceram. Soc.
76
, 1096
(1993
).16.
A.
Bhatnagar
, M. J.
Hoffman
, and R. H.
Dauskardt
, J. Am. Ceram. Soc.
83
, 585
(2000
).17.
V.
Tvergaard
and J. W.
Hutchinson
, Philos. Mag. A
70
, 641
(1994
).18.
M. D.
Allendorf
, C. F.
Melius
, P.
Ho
, and M. R.
Zachariah
, J. Phys. Chem.
99
, 15285
(1995
).19.
G.
Kresse
and J.
Furthmuller
, Phys. Rev. B
54
, 11169
(1996
).20.
J. P.
Perdew
, J. A.
Chevary
, S. H.
Vosko
, K. A.
Jackson
, M. R.
Pederson
, D. J.
Singh
, and C.
Fiolhais
, Phys. Rev. B
46
, 6671
(1992
).21.
P. E.
Blochl
, Phys. Rev. B
50
, 17953
(1994
).22.
G.
Kresse
and D.
Joubert
, Phys. Rev. B
59
, 1758
(1999
).© 2011 American Institute of Physics.
2011
American Institute of Physics
You do not currently have access to this content.