Abstract
Dominant factor of the crack initiation at the dissimilar interface in nanoscale components, which include an interface between a copper (Cu) thin film with a thickness of 20 nm and a silicon (Si) substrate, is investigated. Crack initiation experiments are conducted for plural components by means of a loading apparatus built in am electron microscope. Interfacial crack initiation and propagation along the Cu/Si interface is recognized by the In-situ observation. Finite element method analyses point out that the crack initiation at the interface edge is dominated by the stress field within 25 nm and that the criterion for the crack initiation is evaluated to be 1125 MPa.
