ADHESION STUDIES OF MAGNETRON-SPUTTERED COPPER FILMS ON INCONEL SUBSTRATES

The adhesion strength of sputtered copper films to Inconel substrates has been studied using the scratch test. The effects of substrate treatments before deposition such as chemical or ion bombardment etching were investigated by means of a mean critical load derived from a Weibull-like statistical analysis. It was found that the mean critical load was very weak unless the amorphous layer produced by mechanical polishing on the substrate surface was eliminated. Chemical etching in a nitric-hydrochloric acid bath was shown to have practically no effect on the enhancement of the adhesion. In contrast, the addition in this bath of nickel and copper sulphates allowed removal of the amorphous layer and an increase in the values of the mean critical load. However, it was observed that excessive chemical etching could cancel out the mean critical load enhancement. The results obtained in the case of ion bombardment etching pretreatments could be far higher than those obtained with chemical etching. Moreover, for a sufficiently long period of ion bombardment etching, the adhesion strength was so high that it was impossible to observe evidence of an adhesion failure.