In situ stress measurements of sputter-deposited films

We report on an in situ stress-measurement system in sputtering deposition, using a laser beam reflected from a cantilevered substrate and a photodiode array to measure the laser beam position. This method delivers excellent results for analysis of thin-film stress. The mean stress resolution of this system is 1.8 x 10(6) Pa for a film of 200 nm thickness on a 200 mu m thick Si (100) substrate. We also report on silicon nitride film stress profiles perpendicular to the substrates (hereinafter referred to as the 'stress profile'), which have been studied using a stress-measurement system which uses a scale instead of a photodiode array, and on silicon film stress profiles using the in situ stress-measurement system. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.