Microscale mechanics for metal thin film delamination along ceramic substrates

The metal thin film delamination along metal/ceramic interface in the case of large scale yielding is studied by employing the strain gradient plastic ity theory and the material microscale effects are considered. Two differen t fracture process models are used in this study to describe the nonlinear delamination phenomena for metal thin films. A set of experiments have been done on the mechanism of copper films delaminating from silica substrates, based on which the peak interface separation stress and the micro-length s cale of material, as well as the dislocation-free zone size are predicted.