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Anisotropic elastic properties of nanocrystalline nickel thin films

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2011

D.C. Hurley ,
R.H. Geiss ,
M. Kopycinska-Müller ,
J. Müller ,
D.T. Read ,
J.E. Wright ,
N.M. Jennett  and
A.S. Maxwell
D.C. Hurley*
Affiliation:
Materials Reliability Division, National Institute of Standards & Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80305
R.H. Geiss
Affiliation:
Materials Reliability Division, National Institute of Standards & Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80305
M. Kopycinska-Müller
Affiliation:
Materials Reliability Division, National Institute of Standards & Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80305
J. Müller
Affiliation:
Materials Reliability Division, National Institute of Standards & Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80305
D.T. Read
Affiliation:
Materials Reliability Division, National Institute of Standards & Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80305
J.E. Wright
Affiliation:
Materials Reliability Division, National Institute of Standards & Technology, Boulder, Colorado 80305
N.M. Jennett
Affiliation:
Materials Centre, National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, Middlesex TW11 0LW, United Kingdom
A.S. Maxwell
Affiliation:
Materials Centre, National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, Middlesex TW11 0LW, United Kingdom
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The elastic properties of a nickel film approximately 800 nm thick were measured with nanoindentation, microtensile testing, atomic force acoustic microscopy (AFAM), and surface acoustic wave (SAW) spectroscopy. Values for the indentation modulus (220–223 GPa) and Young’s modulus (177–204 GPa) were lower than predicted for randomly oriented polycrystalline nickel. The observed behavior was attributed to grain-boundary effects in the nanocrystalline film. In addition, the different measurement results were not self-consistent when interpreted assuming elastic isotropy. Agreement was improved by adopting a transversely isotropic model corresponding to the film’s 〈111〉 preferred orientation and reducing the elastic moduli by 10–15%. The SAW spectroscopy results indicated that the film density was 1–2% lower than expected for bulk nickel, consistent with models for nanocrystalline materials. Similar reductions in modulus and density were observed for two additional films approximately 200 and 50 nm thick using AFAM and SAW spectroscopy. These results illustrate how complementary methods can provide a more complete picture of film properties.

Keywords

Elastic propertiesThin film
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 20 , Issue 5 , May 2005 , pp. 1186 - 1193
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2005

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References

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