Controlled buckling of thin film on elastomeric substrate in large deformation

Electronic systems with large stretchability have many applications. A precisely controlled buckling strategy to increase the stretchability has been demonstrated by combining lithographically patterned surface bonding chemistry and a buckling process. The buckled geometry was assumed to have a sinusoidal form, which may result in errors to determine the strains in the film. A theoretical model is presented in this letter to study the mechanics of this type of thin film/substrate system by discarding the assumption of sinusoidal buckling geometry. It is shown that the previous model overestimates the deflection and curvature in the thin film. The results from the model agree well with finite element simulations and therefore provide design guidelines in many applications ranging from stretchable electronics to micro/nano scale surface patterning and precision metrology.     

BUCKLING ANALYSIS OF STRETCHABLE FERROELECTRIC THIN FILM ON ELASTOMERIC SUBSTRATES

The thin stiff films on pre-stretched compliant substrates can form wrinkles, which can be controlled in micro and nanoscale systems to generate smart structures. Recently, buck- led piezoelectric/ferroelectrie nanoribbons have been reported to show an enhancement in the piezoelectric effect and stretchability, which can be applied in energy harvesting devices, sensors and memory devices instead of polymeric polyvinylidine fluoride （PVDF）. This paper studies the buckling and post-buckling process of ferroelectric thin films bonded to the pre-stretched soft layer, which in turn lies on a rigid support. Nonlinear electromechanical equations for the buckling of thin piezoelectric plates are deduced and employed to model the ferroelectric film poled in the thickness direction. Two buckling modes are analyzed and discussed： partially de-adhered buck- ling and fully adhered buckling. Transition from one buckling mode to the other is predicted and the effect of piezoelectricity on the critical buckling condition of piezoelectric film is examined.     

活塞环组摩擦及润滑特性的综合分析

基于二维平均流量模型和微凸体接触模型，提出了一种分析内燃机活塞环组润滑的模型，同时还对油膜厚度进行了实测，理论值与实测值具有良好的一致性，并且运用这种模型求出了活塞环－缸套之间油膜厚度的三维分布，发现油膜厚度沿圆周方向存在不均匀性．在分析中还考虑了贫油的影响，而且首次探讨了活塞系统的二阶运动对活塞环组润滑特性的影响，给出了不同结构下活塞系统的摩擦力和摩擦功耗．     

Effect of interfacial stiffness on the stretchability of metal/elastomer bilayers under in-plane biaxial tension

Flexible electronic devices are often subjected to large and repeated deformation, so that their functional components such as metal interconnects need to sustain strains up to tens of percent, which is far beyond the intrinsic deformability of metal materials(～1%). To meet the stringent requirements of flexible electronics, metal/elastomer bilayers, a stretchable structure that consists of a metal film adhered to a stretchable elastomer substrate, have been developed to improve the stretch capability of metal interconnects. Previous studies have predicted that the metal/elastomer bilayers are much more stretchable than freestanding metal films. However, these investigations usually assume perfect bonding between the metal and elastomer layers. In this work, the effect of the metal/elastomer interface with a finite interfacial stiffness on the stretchability of bilayer structures is analyzed. The results show that the assumption of perfect interface(with infinite interfacial stiffness) may lead to an overestimation of the stretchability of bilayer structures. It is also demonstrated that increased adhesion between the metal and elastomer layers can enhance the stretchability of the metal layer.     

Buckling of a stiff thin film on a compliant substrate in large deformation

A finite-deformation theory is developed to study the mechanics of thin buckled films on compliant substrates. Perturbation analysis is performed for this highly nonlinear system to obtain the analytical solution. The results agree well with experiments and finite element analysis in wavelength and amplitude. In particular, it is found that the wavelength depends on the strain. Based on the accurate wavelength and amplitude, the membrane and peak strains in thin films, and stretchability and compressibility of the system are also obtained analytically.     

The steady annular extrusion of a Newtonian liquid under gravity and surface tension

The steady extrusion of a Newtonian liquid through an annular die and its development outside and away from the die are studied under the influence of gravitational and surface tension forces. The finite element method (FEM) is used for the simulations. The positions of the inner and outer free surface profiles are calculated simultaneously with the other unknown fields, i.e. using the Newton–Raphson iterative scheme. The effects of three relevant parameters, i.e. the Reynolds, the Stokes and the capillary numbers, on the shape of the annular film are studied for two values of the inner to the outer diameter ratio, corresponding to a thick and a thin annular film respectively. A one‐dimensional model for the extrudate region, valid for thin annular films, is also presented, and its predictions are compared with the two‐dimensional finite element calculations. Despite the fact that it is valid away from the die exit, the one‐dimensional model predicts satisfactorily the effects of the Stokes and capillary numbers. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Finite width effect of thin-films buckling on compliant substrate: Experimental and theoretical studies

Buckling of stiff thin films on compliant substrates has many important applications ranging from stretchable electronics to precision metrology and sensors. Mechanics plays an indispensable role in the fundamental understanding of such systems. Some existing mechanics models assume plane-strain deformation, which do not agree with experimental observations for narrow thin films. Systematic experimental and analytical studies are presented in this paper for finite-width stiff thin films buckling on compliant substrates. Both experiments and analytical solution show that the buckling amplitude and wavelength increase with the film width. The analytical solution agrees very well with experiments and therefore provides valuable guide to the precise design and control of the buckling profile in many applications. The effect of film spacing is studied via the analytical solutions for two thin films and for periodic thin films.     

二维系统传递矩阵法

以薄板横向振动的振动特性问题为例提出了二维系统传递矩阵法. 从质点和无质量梁的传递 矩阵出发,建立了按列排列的薄板子结构的传递矩阵. 用二维系统传递矩阵法获得了整个板 的总体传递方程,从而可得到板在任意一种边界条件下的特征方程. 数值求解了两种情况下 薄板横向振动的固有振动特性. 计算结果表明,用该方法可用于研究类似薄板的二维系统的 动力学问题,且无需建立系统的总体动力学方程.     

Mechanics of nonbuckling interconnects with prestrain for stretchable electronics

The performance of the flexibility and stretchability of flexible electronics depends on the mechanical structure design, for which a great progress has been made in past years. The use of prestrain in the substrate, causing the compression of the transferred interconnects, can provide high elastic stretchability. Recently, the nonbuckling interconnects have been designed, where thick bar replaces thin ribbon layout to yield scissor-like in-plane deformation instead of in-or out-of-plane buckling modes. The nonbuckling interconnect design achieves significantly enhanced stretchability. However,combined use of prestrain and nonbuckling interconnects has not been explored. This paper aims to study the mechanical behavior of nonbuckling interconnects bonded to the prestrained substrate analytically and numerically. It is found that larger prestrain,longer straight segment, and smaller arc radius yield smaller strain in the interconnects.On the other hand, larger prestrain can also cause larger strain in the interconnects after releasing the prestrain. Therefore, the optimization of the prestrain needs to be found to achieve favorable stretchability.     

Buckling of a stiff thin film on a pre-strained bi-layer substrate

Controlled buckling can impart stretchable mechanics to brittle materials when integrated as thin films on soft, elastomeric substrates. Typical elastomers are permeable to fluids, however, and therefor unable to provide robust barriers to entry of water, for instance, into devices built with the supported thin films. In addition, the mechanical strength of a system dominated by a soft substrate is often unsatisfactory for realistic applications. We show that introduction of a bi-layer substrate yields a robust, high strength system that maintains stretchable characteristics, with a soft layer on top of a relatively stiff layer in the substrate. As a mechanical protection, a soft encapsulation layer can be used on top of the device and the stretchability of the encapsulated system is smaller than that of the system without encapsulation. A simple, analytic model, validated by numerical analysis and FEA, is established for stiff thin films on a bi-layer substrate, and is useful to the design of stretchable systems.     

Wrinkling of a charged elastic film on a viscous layer

A thin metallic film deposited on a compliant polymeric substrate begins to wrinkle under compression induced in curing process and afterwards cooling of the system. The wrinkle mode depends upon the thin film elasticity, thickness, compressive strain, as well as mechanical properties of the compliant substrate. This paper presents a simple model to study the modulation of the wrinkle mode of thin metallic films bonded on viscous layers in external electric field. During the procedure, linear perturbation analysis was performed for determining the characteristic relation that governs the evolution of the plane-strain wrinkle of the thin films under varying conditions, i.e., the maximally unstable wrinkle mode as a function of the film surface charge, film elasticity and thickness, misfit strain, as well as thickness and viscosity of the viscous layer. It shows that, in proper electric field, thin film may wrinkle subjected to either compression or tension. Therefore, external electric field can be employed to modulate the wrinkle mode of thin films. The present results can be used as the theoretical basis for wrinkling analysis and mode modulation in surface metallic coatings, drying adhesives and paints, and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), etc.     

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

We have developed a microbeam bending technique for determining elastic-plastic, stress-strain relations for thin metal films on silicon substrates. The method is similar to previous microbeam bending techniques, except that triangular silicon microbeams are used in place of rectangular beams. The triangular beam has the advantage that the entire film on the top surface of the beam is subjected to a uniform state of plane strain as the beam is deflected, unlike the standard rectangular geometry where the bending is concentrated at the support. To extract the average stress-strain relations for the film, we present a method of analysis that requires computation of the neutral plane for bending, which changes as the film deforms plastically. This method can be used to determine the elastic-plastic properties of thin metal films on silicon substrates up to strains of about 1%.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.     

Thickness effect of a thin film on the stress field due to the eigenstrain of an ellipsoidal inclusion

Solutions of the stress field due to the eigenstrain of an ellipsoidal inclusion in the film/substrate half-space are obtained via the Fourier transforms and Stroh eigenrelation equations. Based on the acquired solutions, the effect of a thin film’s thickness on the stress field is investigated with two types of ellipsoidal inclusions considered. The results in this paper show that if the thickness of the thin film increases, its effect on the stress field will become weaker, and can even be neglected. In the end, a guide rule is introduced to simplify the calculation of similar problems in engineering.     

水溶性烷基硫代磷酸锌在钢球磨斑表面形成的润滑薄膜的分析研究

用扫描电子显微镜、电子探针和扫描隧道显微镜对水溶性烷基硫代磷酸锌在四球试验中于钢球磨斑表面形成的润滑膜进行了分析研究．结果表明：这种膜为非晶态，元素Ｐ和Ｚｎ的含量都较高，且在膜中均显示出明显的偏析现象，二者的富集位置相同，而元素Ｓ在膜中的分布比较均匀；这种润滑膜系多层膜，每层膜的厚度约为５００ｎｍ，润滑膜的平均直径约为１５０００ｎｍ．     

纳米薄膜润滑物理—数学模型及数值分析

基于润滑剂分子通常具有链状结构的事实，在分析润滑剂分子链长同膜厚关系的基础上，建立了纳米薄膜润滑物理模型，并利用含旋转量的流体力学运动方程得到了相应的Reynolds方程，同时对薄膜润滑Reynolds方程进行了数值计算，以考察特征长度对薄膜润滑状态参数的影响。结果表明，同相应的厚膜解相比，薄膜模型中润滑剂的粘度及承载能力均明显提高，且其提高幅度随着特征长度的增大而增大。根据润滑剂分子链长度确定的薄膜润滑区间以及膜厚－速度关系数值解同相应的试验结果一致。     

Distribution of dislocation source length and the size dependent yield strength in freestanding thin films

A method is proposed to estimate the size-dependent yield strength of columnar-grained freestanding thin films. The estimate relies on assuming a distribution of the size of Frank-Read sources, which is then translated into a log-normal distribution of the source strength, depending on film thickness, grain size and theoretical strength of the material, augmented with a single fit parameter. Two-dimensional discrete dislocation plasticity (DDP) simulations are carried out for two sets of Cu films and the fit parameter is determined from independent experiments. Subsequent DDP predictions of the stress-strain curves in comparison with the corresponding experimental data show excellent agreement of initial yield strength and hardening rate for films of varying film thickness and grain size. Having thus demonstrated the power of the proposed strength distribution, it is shown that the mode of this distribution governs the most effective source strength. This is then used to suggest a method to estimate the yield strength of thin films as a function of film thickness and grain size. Simple maps are presented that are in very good agreement with recent experimental results for Cu thin films.     

Two-dimensional equations for thin-films of ionic conductors

A theoretical model is developed for predicting both conduction and diffusion in thin-film ionic conductors or cables. With the linearized Poisson-Nernst-Planck (PNP) theory, the two-dimensional (2D) equations for thin ionic conductor films are obtained from the three-dimensional (3D) equations by power series expansions in the film thickness coordinate, retaining the lower-order equations. The thin-film equations for ionic conductors are combined with similar equations for one thin dielectric film to derive the 2D equations of thin sandwich films composed of a dielectric layer and two ionic conductor layers. A sandwich film in the literature, as an ionic cable, is analyzed as an example of the equations obtained in this paper. The numerical results show the effect of diffusion in addition to the conduction treated in the literature. The obtained theoretical model including both conduction and diffusion phenomena can be used to investigate the performance of ionic-conductor devices with any frequency.     

硅表面电沉积MoS2薄膜及其微观摩擦性能研究

以单晶硅片为基片,采用电化学沉积工艺通过阴极还原硫代钼酸根制备MoS2薄膜,利用光学显微镜、扫描电子显微镜、X射线衍射仪、俄歇电子能谱仪以及原子力显微镜表征薄膜结构,并研究其微观摩擦磨损性能.结果表明:所制备的薄膜为纳米/亚微米厚度,表面光滑致密,结构为非晶态,由钼、硫和氧元素构成;微米厚度的薄膜表面粗糙度增加,薄膜易开裂,结合性差;沉积MoS2薄膜的硅表面的最小摩擦力约为原始硅表面的1/2;沉积MoS2可以使硅表面的粘着能减少50%左右,从而使其微观摩擦力降低.     

不同表面粗糙度的摩擦副润滑状态的 Stribeck曲线研究

利用Stribeck润滑曲线理论分析和薄膜润滑试验考察了不同表面粗糙度的钢球与圆盘点接触及钢滑块与圆盘面接触摩擦副的润滑状态，通过改变圆盘转速获得了包含薄膜润滑状态的Stribeck曲线．结果表明：在Stribeck曲线上可以划分出薄膜润滑状态，其位于摩擦系数谷底附近；薄膜润滑的产生及其区间大小同圆盘表面粗糙度密切相关；圆盘表面粗糙度较小时更易形成薄膜润滑状态，而圆盘表面粗糙度较大时薄膜润滑状态不明显；光滑表面对应的Stribeck曲线谷底较宽，相应的薄膜润滑区间亦较宽．     

Integral analysis of condensation in a paper drum with a scraper

An integral analysis is made for laminar film condensation in a rotating paper drum with a scraper. The analysis includes the nonlinear inertial terms in the equation of motion, with the interface shear stress being considered. The results of numerical solutions show that the inertial terms cannot be neglected except in the cases of a very thin condensate film or a very large Froude number, that the condensation heat transfer will be, to some extent, enhanced by the inertial effect, and that the vapor shear at the vapor-liquid interface proves to be negligible. Distributions of the interface velocity and film thickness as well as heat transfer results are obtained and discussed. Included also in this paper is the investigation for transition of the condensate flow from steady state to unsteady one. Received on 6 December 1996