Elastic and plastic properties of electroplated thin films and layered nanocomposites by nanoindentation technique

Nanoindentation technique has been employed to determine the elastic and plastic properties of electroplated copper and nickel thin films, and Cu/Ni layered nanocomposite consisting of 100 nm thick sublayers. The technique involves continous recording of the depth versus load data during the loading as well as unloading of a diamond indenter against a sample. From the loading cycle, hardness of the samples has been determined. Unloading cycle allows the calculation of elastic modulus. Hardness and modulus of electroplated copper and nickel films determined by the nanoindentation technique are found to be in close agreement with those measured by the conventional techniques. Determination of hardness on electroplated Cu/Ni layered nanocomposite has clearly demonstrated the capability of the nanoidentation technique in resolving the hardness of the constituent layers as thin as 100 mm.