“Nanoreliability” — Fracture Mechanics on the Way from Micro to Nano

Abstract

“Thermo-mechanical compatibility” (TMC) of different micro- and nanomaterials in electronic and mechatronic systems is one mayor reason for troubles in the field of reliability and life-time of “high-tech” applications. Problems of thermal misfit (or mismatch) have become more and more important in the recent years because more than 60 percent of failure events in modern microelectronics are more or less directly connected with thermal misfit problems. The interface regions between the different materials, e.g. of a chip interconnection layer within a microsensor or a microactuator, is very important for the reliability of the component and of the whole system.