Compositional dependence of Young's moduli for amorphous Cu-Zr films measured using combinatorial deposition on microscale cantilever arrays

Abstract

Young's moduli of amorphous Cu-Zr thin films have been determined with unprecedented compositional resolution, via combinatorial film deposition and force-deflection measurements of microscale cantilevers. This elastic property increased monotonically with increasing Cu content. Such cantilever-based surveys of compositional libraries are considerably more rapid than that required of bulk samples. Additionally, interpretation of the film elastic modulus Ef via this approach is advantageous over indentation-based methods, particularly in terms of straightforward calculation that does not require knowledge of the glass's Poisson's ratio. © 2010 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.