Sensitivity of electroplating conditions on Young's modulus of thin film

We address a relatively simple method to investigate the sensitivity of Young's modulus to the plating conditions Such as the plating temperature and applied current density. This method uses the resonance method of atomic force microscope, which does not require specially microfabricated cantilevers and additional experimental set-up. The measured Young's modulus is as high as that of bulk nickel at low plating temperature between 40-60 degrees C and at low applied current density (J = 8.6 mA/cm(2)) but drastically drops at high temperature or current density. The dependence of Young's modulus on the plating thickness is negligible in thin film less than few microns.