Investigations of the influence of sputter-deposited thin films on the strength and the fatigue behavior of ultra-thin glass

Ultra-thin glass with a thickness of 100 µm or below is a high-end substrate. Its use is currently limited to foldable smartphone displays, fingerprint sensors, and a few other applications. However, glass usage in semiconductor applications is treated as the next big thing. There, the low surface roughness, high thermal stability, and high barrier properties of ultra-thin glass could be advantageous. Unfortunately, the mechanical strength is heavily influenced by any functionalization step, making stability management the main challenge. This thesis clarifies the influence of selected sputter-deposited thin film coatings on the strength and the fatigue behavior of ultra-thin glass. A new rapid fatigue test was developed and used to investigate the influence of sputter-deposited coatings under cyclic loading. Correlations between key film properties and glass strength were then further examined under quasi-static conditions.