Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 February 2011
Plastic deformation in thin Cu films was studied by stress measurements with the wafercurvature technique during thermal cycling and in combination with four-point bending. The results from 0.5 ¼m and 1 ¼m thick Cu films are compared. In thermal cycling experiments, strengthening during cooling and a Bauschinger-like effect during reheating were observed. The stress-strain behavior investigated by four-point bending showed to be asymmetric regarding tension and compression at lower temperatures. These phenomenons are explained by a dislocation arrangement at the film-substrate interface which has formed during a previous thermal cycle.