Interfacial stress transfer mechanism of Cu-Zr amorphous films on polyimide substrates: Effect of deformation-induced devitrification.

Abstract The fragmentation and interfacial stress transfer of Cu 75 Zr 25 amorphous films with varying film thickness (h) on polyimide substrates were systematically investigated by using uniaxial tensile testing, in combination with in situ optical microscope and atomic force microscope characterizations. It is revealed that the interfacial stress transfer length increases monotonically as h increases. The interfacial stress transfer mechanism changes from elastic-plastic to approximately linear elastic at a critical point of h = 250 nm. This is related to h -dependent deformation-induced devitrification (DID) near the interfaces that the thinner Cu-Zr amorphous films display more DID. This study elucidates for the first time the effect of DID on the interfacial stress transfer, which will be helpful to design the interface with desired property for nanotechnological applications. Highlights • Fragmentation and interfacial stress transfer of Cu-Zr amorphous films were studied. • Interfacial stress transfer length increases as film thickness increases. • Thinner Cu-Zr amorphous films display more deformation-induced devitrification. • A crystallization gradient is induced by deformation along the film growth direction. • Interfacial stress transfer changes from elastic-plastic to linear elastic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]