To increase the residual stress stability of Au films while reducing the residual stress level, the effect of deposition temperature on long-term residual stress evolution of Au films under different conditions were studied. Au films with a thickness of 360 nm were deposited using e-beam evaporation on fused silica under different temperatures. Observations and comparisons were made of the microstructures of Au films deposited under different temperatures. Results showed that by increasing the deposition temperature, a more compact microstructure of Au film was obtained, which was manifested in increased grain size and reduced grain-boundary voids. After deposition, a combined process consisting of natural placement and 80 °C thermal holding was conducted on the Au films, and the residual stresses were monitored using the curvature-based technique. Results showed that the initial tensile residual stress of the as-deposited film decreased with the deposition temperature. The Au films with higher deposition temperatures showed better residual stress stability, maintaining low stress levels in the subsequent long-term combination of natural placement and thermal holding. The mechanism was discussed based on the differences in microstructure. Comparisons were made between post-deposition annealing and increased deposition temperature.
Keywords: Au film; deposition temperature; microstructure; residual stress; stability.