Experimental and theoretical/numerical investigations of thin films bonding strength

A laser spallation facility has been developed to measure the strength of planar interfaces between a substrate and a thin coating. This quantity is a central requirement in contemporary thin film and protective coatings technology and its successful measurement should improve the scientific/technological potential for the design of advanced composites, protective coatings of composites that operate in hostile environments, and in joining of dissimilar materials. The technique involves impinging a laser pulse of ultra short duration on the rear surface of the substrate, which is coated by a thin layer of energy absorbing metal such as Sn and Pb. The explosive evaporation of the metallic layer, confined between a fused quartz crystal and the substrate, induces a compressive shock wave, which propagates through the substrate toward the material interface. Upon reflection from the free surface of the coating, the pressure pulse is converted into a tensile wave which, under certain conditions, can lead to spallation at the interface. It is shown by mathematical simulation that atomic bond rupture is the mechanism of separation in this experiment. Since the interaction of laser energy with matter is a complicated, highly non-linear process, our investigations, at first, were based on measurement of the pressure pulse generated by the threshold flux level that leads to spallation, by using a micro-electronics device with a piezo-electric crystal, and on computation of the tensile stress experienced at the material interface, by numerical simulation of the induced stress wave propagation. Several substrate/coating (ceramic/ceramic and ceramic/metal) systems have been investigated such as, 1–15 μm SiC by CVD, 1–4 μm TiC and TiN by PVD coatings on sapphire substrates, as well as 1–2 μm Au, Sn and Ag coatings by sputtering on sapphire, fused quartz and glass substrates. For identically prepared specimens, the measured threshold energy levels are reproducible, thus leading to reproducible bond strength values, while the spall size, as expected, is dependent on the laser pulse energy level. Finally, the bond strength values obtained are in very good agreement with similar data derived by direct experimental techniques based on Laser-Doppler-Interferometry.