Measurement of Yield Strength for Electroplated Nickel Film Using Micro-cantilever

We report highly improved yield strength of nickel thin film, prepared using electroplating. The micro-scaled nickel cantilever is found to have significantly higher yield strength than bulk nickel. For the yield strength test, the heights of the micro-scaled cantilever were varied up to 60 ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$ and electrostatic force was used for actuation. Stress of the bent cantilever was estimated using the FEM large deflection model. The yield strength of the thin nickel film is found to be over five times higher than that of the bulk nickel previously published. Results from this study indicate that metal microstructures can be used for MEMS applications requiring large deflection.