Finite Element Modeling and Blister Test to Investigate the Adhesive Strength of Diamond Thin Film

Large advancements have been achieved in understanding nucleation and growth of CVD diamond, but adhesion of diamond film to substrates is poor and there is no good methods about how to quantitative evaluation of the adhesive strength. The blister test is a method appropriate for measuring the adhesion of CVD diamond. In this test a pressure difference is applied across a thin film and the pressure when the film separates from substrate is measured, and the adhesive strength of diamond thin film was calculated using analytical model. Using the finite element model, the deflection at the center of a free-standing window sample of diamond thin films is calculated as a function of applied pressure and the adhesive strength is obtained using the FEM. The result indicates that finite element method-based prediction of the total energy release rate is in good agreement with that obtained from analytical expressions and experimentally observed values.