328 Sensors and Actuators A, 37-38 (1993) 328-332

High-temperature thin-film strain gauges

P Kayser, J C Godefroy and L Leca

Ofice Natronal d’Etu&s et de Recherches Aerospatzoles (ONERA), BP 72, 92322 Chdtrllon Cedex (France)

Abstract

To respond to the mdustnal interest of aeroengme manufacturers m carrymg out mstrumentatlon techniques for
blade vibration measurements, ONERA IS developing thm-film resistance stram gauges smtable for dynamic stress
measurements up to 900 “C The stram gauge, deposIted by r f sputtermg onto nickel-based superalloys, 1s
described It consists of a NlCoCrAlY coating, msulatmg layer (Al,O,), sensmg layer (NlCr, PdCr), intermediate
sphcmg layer (Pt) and a protective film (Al,O, or SO*) The masking of the layers, the sphcmg of the thm films
to wires and the deposltlon technique on complex three-dImensIonal structures are presented The first electrical and
mechanical properties of the sensmg layers are described,, as well as prehmmary results concermng the thermal
stab&y of the gauges

rlltroductloll IN 7 13 LC (InternatIonal Nickel Lusted, UK) mckel-

The nnprovement of aeroengme gas turbines requires
comprehensive measurements of blade vtbratlon, which
are camed out durmg efficiency, reltablhty and llfetlme
tests on research turbomachtnes
The conventional techniques used to measure the
stram on the surface of turbine blades show slgmficant
&advantages Among these are the perturbation of the
aerodynamx gas flow due to their mtruslve character,
which can change the mode of vlbratlon at the measur-
mg point, the hmlted temperature range and the poor
signal accuracy
With high-temperature thin-film resistance strain
gauges directly deposlted by sputtermg techniques on
the blade surface, these disadvantages can be overcome
In ths respect, ONERA (French National Institute for
Aerospace Research and Studies) is developing NlCr
and PdCr thm-film stram gauges smtable for dynamic
stress measurements (g-load of 250 OOOg)up to 700 and
900 “C, respectively
The sensor structure, the thin-film deposition and
masking methods are described in this article, as well as
the layer-to-wire sphcmg techmque The first electrical
and mechanical properties and prehmmary results con-
cerning the thermal stability of the sensing layers are
presented
based superalloy, as indicated in Fig 1
The layers are
(I) a NlCoCrAlY coatmg, 32 pm thck, which 1s
deslgned for improvement of the relief of the superalloy
surface and for better adherence of the alumma msu-
latmg layer deposited on top [ 11,
(n) an A&O, msulatmg layer, about 8 pm thick,
(m) a 3000 8, thck NlCr or PdCr film formmg a
single-strip strain-gauge element connected to two
squared pads, which are necessary to ensure binding
with the lead-out tracks (Ag 2),
(iv) two platmum thm-fihn lead-out tracks (2-3 pm
thick) to allow connection to the conventional lead-out
wnmg (mckel leads),
(v) a 0 5 pm thick SiO, or A1203 layer designed for
protection against oxldatlon of the chrommm-nch
gauge alloy
All constltutlve layers are obtained usmg r f cathodic
sputtermg

Sensor structure

The sensor consists of five supenmposed layers de-

posited on pohshed and cleaned substrates made of Frg 1 Cross-sectIona structure of thm-film strain gauge

0924-4247/93/%6 00 @ 1993 - Elmer Sequoia All nghts reserved

 329

-J- I
l%mum 100 vrn
lead-out bock
Rg 3 Cross-sectional outline of an NlCr stram-gauge element
Ftg 2 Overvlew of the stram-gauge element connected to the (roughness meter measurement)
lead-out tracks

Experimental

Thm -jilm deposition

The deposltlon condltlons and parameters defined to
obtam the NiCoCrAlY and alumma layers are gven
elsewhere [ 1,2] The deposltlon conditions of the sens-
mg element (NlCr, PdCr), lead-out tracks (Pt) and
protective layer (SIOz, A&O,) are descr&d m Table 1
The target to substrate distance 1s about 50 mm, the
atmosphere 1s pure argon and the pressure about
17Pa
In order to improve the adhesion of the platinum
film, an underlayer 1s apphed consisting of the platmum
itself, sputtered m an argon atmosphere enhanced mth
10% oxygen [3] The substrate parameters are as fol-
lows temperature 250 “C (no external heatmg) and no
electrical bias
Rg 4 NlCr stram gauge and Pt lead-out tracks depostted on a
Thm-film maskmg TM-333 power turbine blade (Turbomeca)
Two dflerent techniques are used to pattern the
gauge elements and the lead-out tracks on complex
three-dnnenslonal structures (such as turbine blades)
HCoCrAlY + Al&Is
ONERA has developed a modtied photohthographlc INSULATING FILM _
lift-off process to ensure the accuracy of the gaugeele-
ment patterning (Fig 3) Adhesive Teflon tape (100 pm NO GAUGE

tluck) 1s used as a flexible mask to lay out the lead-out

tracks Figure 4 shows the thm Finns deposited on a TM
333-power turbine blade (Turbomiza)

Sphcmg of thm films to wires

Parallel-gap resistance weldmg has been found to be PI TRACKS _

a suitable method for the sphcmg of thin-film lead-out

TABLE 1 Thm-film deposition cnndltlons

Matenal Target composmon Power density DeposItionrate

(wt%) (W cm-3 (w h-9
NlCr 80 N1-20 Cr 064 106
PdCr 885Pd-115Cr 064 1 75
Pt 064 1 32
sloo, 47 Sl-530 1 21 0 25
Al@, 53 Al-47 0 127 0 16 Rg 5 Layout of the blade equpped Hrlth a thm-film
gauge
330

tracks to wires This techmque allows the quahty of the

connections to be ensured m terms of electrical proper-
ties and mechamcal resistance
A double lead msulated metallic-shielded cable 1s
used Nl wires (70 pm m diameter) are connected to the
platinum thm films (mmlmum thickness 2 pm) as
shown m Fig 5 The Jomt must be covered wth a
ceranuc cement for further support and protection

Fig 8 Relative resIstawe change vs temperature for thm-film

Physical properties of the sensing layers. PdCr stram gauge
Results and discmssion

Chemical composltron
The quantities of chrommm, mckel and palladmm m
the NiCr and PdCr layers have been determined by ICP
(mductlvely coupled plasma) spectrometry For each
element, the relative hscrepancy between the target
composltlon and the layer composltlon 1s better than
2001
2% (NlCr layer = 80 4 wt %- 19 6 wt %Cr, PdCr layer 400 500 600 7w 8acl9001cno
=887wt%Pd-113wt%Cr) Tmmrc)

Rg 9 Temperature coeffiwnt of resistance vs temperature for

Electrical properties
The electrical reslstlvltles of as-deposited NiCr and
PdCr layers either on pohshed bulk alumma substrates
or sputtered alumma layers are 240 x 10m6Q cm and
101 x 10V6a cm, respectively, at 20 “C After annealing
under argon (750 “C for 1 h for NlCr and 900 “C for
1 h for PdCr), the reslstlvlty decreases considerably to
170 x low6 Qcm for NlCr and 83 x 10-6Rcm for
20,
thm-film PdCr stram gauge
PdCr However, those values remam higher than the
bulk reslstmlty deduced from the literature [4] The
excessive reslstlvlty of our thm films may be ascribed to
the scattermg of electrons by structural defects and
lmpuntles (vacancies, gram boundanes, diffused spe-
cues, etc ), such a phenomenon 1s often desmbed m the
literature [ 51
Typical expernnental results of relative resistance
change and temperature coefficient of resistance versus
temperature for NlCr and PdCr stram gauges are
shown m Figs 6-9

Thermal stabdrty
aI/ The stability of the electrical charactenstlcs of the
0 ml 4w 500 ml
gauges at high temperature depends directly on the
TmpurmmM ablhty of the protective layer to hmlt or prevent the
Fig 6 Relative reslstancc change vs temperature for thm-film oxldatlon of the chrommm contamed m the gauge
NKr stram gauge alloys
The relative resistance change at 750 “C, under air,
for a NlCr gauge covered wth s&a (0 5 pm) 1s about
+2 0% per hour For PdCr gauges covered with an
alumma protective layer (0 5 m) the discrepancy at
950 “C reaches the value of -0 6% per hour
A relative resistance change lower than 0 3% per
hour IS obtained for the NlCr gauges at 700 “C and for
the PdCr gauges at 900 “C Accordmg to the structure
0 MO 400 600 em of our sensors, these temperatures de&mine the upper
TmWmM limit of stability of the alloys used as thin films (the
Fig 7 Temperature cblicient of resistance vs temperature for problem of the oxlduable surface/volume ratlo IS un-
thm-film NlCr stram gauge favourable for thm films)

I
Pt tracks
Rg 10 Settmg and wnng of thm-film sensors on tenslIe test specimen
Mechanzcal propertres
The adhesion of 1 p thick NlCr and PdCr layers,
tested by a pull-off test, 1s higher than 70 MPa The tests
were performed after deposition on plates of polished
bulk ahnnma (roughness = R, < 0 1 pm) m order to
ehmmate the mechanical aspect of this adhesion
In collaboration with Turbomeca, tractlon tests on
IN 713 LC nickel-based superalloy specimens have been
achieved Those samples were covered v&h NlCoCrAlY
and alumma layers, two NlCr gauges (one axial and one
transverse) and finally wrth a slhca protective layer
Sphcmg of Nl wires 1s shown m Fig 10 As the two
gauges are in the same half bridge and have snmlar
resistance versus temperature charactenstlcs, the tem-
perature-induced drift 1s compensated
The test IS performed wth a controlled load, and
hence a controlled stress 0 = F/S where F 1s the apphed
force (m N) and S the section of the specimen (m mz)
The strain 1s gven by Al/l = a/E where E (m Pa) 1s
Young’s modulus of the substrate matenal (E evolves
with temperature change)
As one gauge 1s axial and the other transverse, the
output 1s gven by ARoIR, = K( 1 + v) Al/l, where K 1s
the gauge factor and v Poisson’s ratio In Fig 11, the
I
0 lwa0 203x rxxxl4aYm
F(bdnN)
Fig 11 Relatwe reustance change of NlCr stram gauge vs
apphed load (substrate = IN 713 LC mckel-based superalloy)
331
predicted A&/& =f(F) 1s plotted mth the expenmen-
tal results from resistance measurements at 23 and
650 “C (E, v are known and a value of K is assumed)
Under these con&tlons, at 23 “C there 1s a good
agreement between the theroretlcal and the expenmental
curves However, at h& temperature, despite the good
hneanty and consistency of the results, a mfference from
the theoretical results IS observed It can be attnbuted to
a discrepancy m E or K
Those prehmmary results show that the determmahon
of the gauge factor (K) of thm-film sensors needs a good
evaluation of Young’s modulus of the substrate mate&
at Qfferent temperatures Ad&tlonal charactenzafion of
this matenal 1s under way on Turbombca faclhtles
conclnslolls
As a result of expenments, high-temperature thin-film
NlCr and PdCr resistance strain gauges can be directly
deposited by sputtermg technques on complex three-d+
menslonal substrates The layer deposltlon, the masking
and the connecting expenmental procedures have been
clearly defined The chemical composltlon, electrical
propertles and thermal stab&y ranges of the NlCr and
PdCr gauge elements have been studed Prehmmary
results concernmg the determmatlon of the thm-film
NiCr sensor’s gauge factor are m good agreement with
the bulk sensor response at room temperature However,
addItIona studies must be undertaken m order to evai-
uate the gauge factor at high temperature
Acknowledgements
We acknowledge the helpful contnbutlons of C
Gageant, D Fraqools and M Armand, who performed
the sputtenng of the layers, the electrical measurements
and the ICP spectrometry analysa, respectively We also
acknowledge A Germon and J P Nlcolau from
TurbomCca, who performed the tractlon tests and pro-
vlded the superalloy samples This study 1s financially
332

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Fdm, 193-194 (1990) 924-934
3 R C Budham, S P&ash, H J Doerr and R F Bun Hah,
Oxygen enhanced adhesion of platmum films deposlted on
thermally grown alumma surfaces, J Vuc Scl Technol, A4
References (1986) 3023-3024
4 C 0 H&e, R S Badey and F D Lemkey, High temperature
1 J C Godefroy, C Gageant, D Franqois and M Portat, static strain gage alloy development program, NASA Report
Thm-film temperature sensors deposlted by radio frequency No CR-174933, March 1985
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