Investigation of the mechanical properties of electrochemically deposited Au-In alloy films using nano-indentation

Thin Au-In alloy films containing different amounts of In were electrochemically deposited on a CuZn substrate with a 500-μm thickness.The thicknesses of the obtained films varied from 0.4 μm to 2.7 μm.The chemical and phase compositions, as well as the structures of the films, were investigated by XRF, XRD and SEM analysis.The mechanical properties of the films and substrates were investigated using nano-indentation experiments.As a result, load-displacement curves were obtained and two mechanical characteristics of the substrate and investigated films -indentation hardness and indentation modulus -were calculated using the Oliver & Pharr approximation method.The dependence of the indentation modulus and the indentation hardness on the depth of the indentation and the content of In, the structure and the phase compositions of the films were investigated and discussed as well.