Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2011
This paper presents the results of nanoindentation experimental studies of Au thin films with different thicknesses. The effects of film thickness and microstructure on the hardnesses of electron-beam deposited Au films were studied in terms of Hall-Petch relationship. The effects of different thicknesses on indentation size effects (ISE) are explained within the framework of mechanism-based strain gradient (MSG) theory using the concept of microstructural length scale.