A microbeam bending method for studying stress-strain relations for metal thin films on silicon substrates

Utilizing this technique, both yielding and strain hardening of Cu thin films on silicon substrates have been investigated. Copper films with dual crystallographic textures and different grain sizes, as well as others with strong 〈1 1 1〉 textures have been studied. Three strongly textured 〈1 1 1〉 films were studied to examine the effect of film thickness on the deformation properties of the film. These films show very high rates of work hardening, and an increase in the yield stress and work hardening rate with decreasing film thickness, consistent with current dislocation models.