Diffraction Stress Analysis in Thin Films and Coatings—Problems,Methods and Perspectives

Abstract

X-ray stress analysis (XSA) at polycrystalline materials is usually a very time-consuming and demanding procedure. This especially applies to thin films and coatings with strong texture and/or steep residual stress gradients, the investigation of which is an important topic in modern materials science research, because these stresses are well-known to influence the properties of technical parts and electronic devices. Starting from some basic aspects concerning the possible residual stress states in thin layers, the paper is to give a compact survey of some of the most important problems in thin film stress analysis and the attempts at their solution.