Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2011
The existing interpretations of indentation test data (either theoretical or numerical approaches) have been largely based on isotropic plasticity models of polycrystalline materials while most of the metallic thin films widely used in many microelectronic and MEMS applications are strongly textured with a few grains or only a single grain running through the thickness of the films. The multicrystalline nature of the thin films on correlating their indentation and tensile properties is the focus of our investigation. Using multicrystalline aluminum and copper alloy thin sheets as model material systems, both tensile tests and indentation tests were performed and the testing results were compared based on a 3D crystal plasticity finite element analysis. The correlation between the indentation data and the tensile test data (at an effective or equivalent strain) is critically examined for these two multicrystalline materials.