Residual stress relief of hard a-C films though buckling

To characterize the adhesive failure mode in amorphous-carbon (a-C) films, and to explore the effects of stress relief mechanism on the mechanical properties of the films, the microstructure and the morphologies of the buckled and peeled a-C films were characterized by various techniques, including transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectrum and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Results indicated that there is obvious buckling between the stress relieved a-C films and Si substrates, and the development of the buckling blister was derived from the residual compressive stress. The as-deposited a-C films voluntarily buckled along the film growth direction above Si substrate when film thickness reached a certain size, and became more and more remarkable, resulting in eventual peeling. These buckling and peeling processes can relieve the residual stress of the a-C films by eliminating the mechanical restriction of Si substrates. The corresponding sp2 hybridization transformation and the reconfiguring graphitic phase were detected in the stress relived a-C films, which can induce buckling and spalling in the a-C films.