Indentation creep behavior of nano-scale Ag/Co multilayers

The creep behavior of nano-scale Ag/Co multilayers prepared by magnetron sputtering with a periodicity of 4–60 nm was studied using the depth-sensing indentation method at room temperature. Results show that the total creep depth increased with decreasing hardness, and the stress exponent values obtained by dimensional analysis were in the range from 2.5 to 5.0, which indicates that dislocation climb is a possible mechanism for indentation creep deformation. Transient effects during the hold-loading segment were more notable at higher strain rates.