Scanning x-ray microdiffraction with submicron white beam for strain and orientation mapping in thin films

Scanning X-ray Microdiffraction (m-SXRD) combines the use of high brilliance synchrotron sources with the latest achromatic X-ray focusing optics and fast large area 2D-detector technology. Using white beams or a combination of white and monochromatic beams, it allows for orientation and strain/stress mapping of polycrystalline thin films with submicron spatial resolution. The technique is described in detail as applied to the study of thin aluminium and copper blanket films and lines following electromigration testing and/or thermal cycling experiments. It is shown that there are significant orientation and strain/stress variations between grains and inside individual grains. A polycrystalline film when investigated at the granular (micron) level shows a highly mechanically inhomogeneous medium that allows insight into its mesoscopic properties. If the m-SXRD data are averaged over a macroscopic range, results show good agreement with direct macroscopic texture and stress measurements