Numerical simulation of laser-induced thin film delamination

Laser-induced thin film spallation has been developed to be one of the most powerful tools for quantitative measurement of thin film interfacial adhesion. High-energy laser pulse absorption generates stress pulse that can be used to delaminate a thin film–substrate interface. Interfacial strength is obtained from the measured surface motion of the thin film using elastic wave mechanics. Due to the short duration of the stress pulses, the dynamic interfacial debonding process usually happens within nanosecond duration, thus the interfacial strength measurement pertains to the intrinsic adhesion of the interface. In this paper, we performed detailed numerical simulations on various aspects of this experimental technique. Combining with experimental observations, the simulation results provide explanations of various phenomena and insights on the fundamental mechanisms of the laser-induced interface debonding process.