TY - GEN
T1 - Experimental study of the high cycle fatigue of thin film metal on polyethylene terephthalate for flexible electronics applications
AU - Alzoubi, Khalid
AU - Lu, Susan
AU - Sammakia, Bahgat
AU - Poliks, Mark
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - Flexible electronics represent an emerging area in the electronics packaging and systems integration industry with the potential for new product development and commercialization in the near future. Manufacturing electronics on flexible substrates will produce low cost devices that are rugged, light, and flexible. However, electronic systems are vulnerable to failures caused by mechanical and thermal stresses. For electronic systems on flexible substrates repeated stresses below the ultimate tensile strength or even below the yield strength will cause failures in the thin films. It is known that mechanical properties of thin films are different from those of bulk materials; so, it is difficult to extrapolate bulk material properties on thin film materials. The objective of this work is to study the behavior of thin-film metal coated flexible substrates under high cyclic bending fatigue loading. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) are widely used substrates in the fabrication of microelectronic devices. Factors affecting the fatigue life of thin-film coated flexible substrates were studied, including thin film thickness, temperature, and humidity. A series of experiments for sputter-deposited copper on PET substrates were performed. Electrical resistance and crack growth rate were monitored during the experiments at specified time intervals. High magnification images were obtained to observe the crack initiation and propagation in the metal film. Statistical analysis based on design of experiments concepts was performed to identify the main factors and factor's interaction that affect the life of a thin-film coated substrate. The results of the experiments showed that the crack starts in the middle of the sample and slowly grows toward the edges. Electrical resistance increases slightly during the test until the crack length covers about 90% of the total width of the sample where a dramatic increase in the resistance takes place.
AB - Flexible electronics represent an emerging area in the electronics packaging and systems integration industry with the potential for new product development and commercialization in the near future. Manufacturing electronics on flexible substrates will produce low cost devices that are rugged, light, and flexible. However, electronic systems are vulnerable to failures caused by mechanical and thermal stresses. For electronic systems on flexible substrates repeated stresses below the ultimate tensile strength or even below the yield strength will cause failures in the thin films. It is known that mechanical properties of thin films are different from those of bulk materials; so, it is difficult to extrapolate bulk material properties on thin film materials. The objective of this work is to study the behavior of thin-film metal coated flexible substrates under high cyclic bending fatigue loading. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) are widely used substrates in the fabrication of microelectronic devices. Factors affecting the fatigue life of thin-film coated flexible substrates were studied, including thin film thickness, temperature, and humidity. A series of experiments for sputter-deposited copper on PET substrates were performed. Electrical resistance and crack growth rate were monitored during the experiments at specified time intervals. High magnification images were obtained to observe the crack initiation and propagation in the metal film. Statistical analysis based on design of experiments concepts was performed to identify the main factors and factor's interaction that affect the life of a thin-film coated substrate. The results of the experiments showed that the crack starts in the middle of the sample and slowly grows toward the edges. Electrical resistance increases slightly during the test until the crack length covers about 90% of the total width of the sample where a dramatic increase in the resistance takes place.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/77953747013
U2 - 10.1115/InterPACK2009-89247
DO - 10.1115/InterPACK2009-89247
M3 - Conference contribution
SN - 9780791843598
T3 - Proceedings of the ASME InterPack Conference 2009, IPACK2009
SP - 27
EP - 32
BT - Proceedings of the ASME InterPack Conference 2009, IPACK2009
T2 - 2009 ASME InterPack Conference, IPACK2009
Y2 - 19 July 2009 through 23 July 2009
ER -