Cracking a tough nut for the semiconductor industry

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a method to measure the toughness - the resistance to fracture - of the thin insulating films that play a critical role in high-performance integrated circuits. The new technique could help improve the reliability and manufacturability of ICs and, better yet, it's one that state-of-the-art microelectronics manufacturers can use with equipment they already own...

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