Mechanical properties of He irradiated and annealed AZ-1350 J(TM) films

The nanoindentation technique is used to measure hardness and Young's modul us in 1.7 mum thick photoresist AZ-1350J (TM) films deposited on Si wafer a nd irradiated with He ions at 380 keV and at fluences of 10(13), 10(14) and 10(15) He cm(-2). After irradiation the films have been also submitted to isothermal treatments at 350 degreesC for G h. The hardness value of 0.45 G Pa for pristine film increases with ion irradiation to 2.3 GPa at the highe st fluence. Thermal annealing, after irradiation, produces changes in the h ardness behavior: for the lowest fluence the hardness raise from 0.7 to 1.0 GPa and for the highest fluence decreases from 2.3 to 1.8 GPa. The Young's modulus values also follow a similar variation after irradiation and therm al treatment. These results are discussed in terms of the crosslinking and the carbonization produced by irradiation and thermal treatment. (C) 2001 P ublished by Elsevier Science B.V.