Insights into thin film blistering of gold coating on metal substrate

Au thin films, up to h ≈ 90 nm thick, have been deposited by direct current sputtering at room temperature to address the effect of coating thickness on film blistering that occurred on Ni-based single crystal (NBSC) superalloy rather than on Si. Transmission electron microscopy provides evidence that the blisters nucleated at the Au/NBSC interface. Statistically, the diameters of the blisters increases while their density decreases with the increase in h; however, the height-to-diameter ratios of the blisters measured from the film surface are rather constant and independent of h. When h is increased from ≤63 nm to ∼90 nm, the size distribution of the blisters turns from a single mode to a bimodal along with an emergence of larger circular blisters and edge-like ones. Mechanical modelling and density-function calculations provide evidence that the formation of blisters is driven by pockets of energy concentration while the nucleation site is influenced by surface absorbents of the substrate.