Study of Nd:YAG laser annealing of electroless Ni–P film on spiegel-iron plate by Taguchi method and grey system theory

An electroless Ni–P film was first deposited on a spiegel-iron plate and then annealed by an Nd:YAG pulsed wave laser. In order to obtain the optimal laser annealing parameters for maximizing the hardness and minimizing the surface roughness of electroless Ni–P films, the Taguchi method and grey system theory were used to analyze the experimental data. The electroless Ni–P film was also characterized by scanning electron microscopy for the morphology, and transmission electron microscopy for the microstructure and crystal structure. The results showed that the hardness and the surface roughness of electroless Ni–P films can be, at the same time, improved to 50.8% and 68%, respectively, by the laser annealing with the optimal parameters.