Mechanical and Metallographic Characterization of Liga Fabricated Nickel

A table top servohydraulic load frame equipped with a laser displacement measurement system was constructed for the mechanical characterization of LIGA fabricated electroforms. A drop-in tensile specimen geometry which includes a pattern to identify gauge length via laser scanning has proven to provide a convenient means to monitor and characterize mechanical property variations arising during processing. In addition to tensile properties, hardness and metallurgical data were obtained for nickel deposit specimens of current density varying between 20 and 80 mA/cm2 from a sulfamate based bath. Data from 80/20 nickelhron deposits is also presented for comparison. As expected, substantial mechanical property differences from bulk metal properties are observed as well as a dependence of material strength on current density which is supported by grain size variation. While elastic modulus values of the nickel electrodeposit are near 160 GPa, yield stress values vary by over 60%. A strong orientation in the metal electrodeposits as well as variations in nucleating and growth morphology present a concern for anisotropic and geometry dependent mechanical properties within and between different LIGA components.