Effect of native Al2O3 on the elastic response of nanoscale Al films

Electro-fragmentation analysis of dielectric thin films on flexible polymer substrates

“…The observed premature failure could be related to process-induced residual stresses introduced in the structure during Al-Ti sputter deposition. It could also result from earlier cracking initiation in the brittle, ultrathin (~5 nm) superficial native oxide [26] of the Al-Ti layer as was observed in silicon structures [27,28]. The exact origin of these cracks could not be resolved under the optical microscope and most likely once initiated the cracks propagated to the adjacent layer due to interfacial stress concentration at crack location [29].…”

Plasticity size effects in free-standing submicron polycrystalline FCC films subjected to pure tension

“…The main feature that separates these two metals from Au, is that each possesses a native oxide surface ÿlm under ambient conditions. Work by Saif et al (2002) has shown that for submicron thick Al ÿlms this layer has no e ect on the elastic properties. However, it is expected to play a role in plastic deformation by acting as a barrier to dislocations reaching the surface (Nix, 1989).…”

The influence of the alumina barrier-layer thickness on the subsequent AC growth of copper nanowires

“…These results imply that during reanodization d b of alumina linearly decreases with (U a,fin ) À1 only up to about 5.0 nm. The further decrease in U a,fin results in slower reduction of d b because the thickness of Al native oxide film exceeds 5 nm at room temperature [23]. In other words, at U a,fin o5.0 V, the chemical interaction between aluminum and the ambient changes relationship between the U a,fin and d b .…”

“…where 0 is the vacuum permitivitty, 8.85 Â 10 À14 F/cm, e is the dielectric constant of alumina, hereinafter, the value 9.8 is accepted [22], A is the surface area of the electrode, 0.33 cm 2 , d-is the thickness of the barrier-layer and b 0 is the factor that accounts for the fraction of the surface occupied by the alumina pores (0ob 0 o1), and b 00 is the roughness factor of the aluminum surface (b 00 41) [23]; b ¼ b 0 b 00 : Using Eq. (1) and assuming the approximate equality CEC 0 it is possible to verify whether or not the experimental capacitance (constant phase element) values follow the expected barrier-layer thickness sequence.…”