Hardness response and adhesion of thin copper films on alloy substrates

Abstract

Microhardness test is the most commonly used method for assessing the mechanical properties of thin films.This testing method uses controlled contact at a single point of an indenter and chosen material which induces the plastic deformation in material under indenter. The measured hardness is considered as the composite hardness, because the substrate participates in the plastic deformation caused by indentation. This research has been carried out in order to analyze and compare the hardness response of different composite systems consist of monolayer electrodeposited copper thin film on brass and steel alloys as the substrates. The influence of the electrodeposition parameters and of the substrate on the hardness and interlayer adhesion were investigated by Vickers microhardness testing for different load.