Mechanical properties of nanocrystalline nickel films deposited by pulse plating

This paper reports the mechanical properties of Ni films fabricated by pulse electrodeposition. Transmission electron microscope revealed that the prepared films had an average grain size of 25 nm with a narrow size distribution and the absence of dislocations. Small grain size leads to an increasing hardness as high as 7.8 GPa while Young's moduli keep a constant bulk value of 215 GPa, resulting in an increasing ratio of hardness (H) to elastic modulus (E). Interestingly, the wear resistance was also improved significantly. Under a constant normal load of 500 μN, the penetration depths of indenter slightly increased from 25 nm to 30 nm and the coefficient of friction varied from 0.12 to 0.20, depending on sliding scans. Depth sensing instrumented indentation experiments performed at different loading rates on specimens revealed an increasing rate-sensitivity of hardness, which concerns with a significantly small activation volume for plastic flow.