Eddy Current Method for Studying Inhomogeneities and Defects in Thin Metal Films

Abstract

The variety of structure and specific properties associated with the small thickness of thin metal films lead to the fact that their physical characteristics differ significantly from the characteristics of the same materials in the bulk state. To determine the characteristics of thin metal films, the development of new non-destructive research methods is relevant. The article substantiates the advantages of the eddy current testing method for studying the surface of thin metal films of various metals. The design of a subminiature eddy current transducer designed to study the electrical conductivity, thickness and degree of damage of thin metal films is presented, and a hardware and software complex is designed that allows the control of the developed transducer. The study of metal films made it possible to show the inhomogeneity of the distribution of the substance over the surface of the substrate. The dependence of the signal amplitude of the developed transducer on the film thicknesswas also determined. To verify the results obtained, studies of the light transmittance of the films were carried out using the photometric method. Comparison of the measurement results obtained by the two methods showed a high degree of agreement betweenthe two developed methods for studying films.