Micromechanical testing of electroplated gold alloy films using theta-like specimens

Micromechanical testing of electroplated gold alloy films has been conducted using theta-like specimens. Specimens were formed by a standard combination of photolithography, electroplating, and deep reactive ion etching. Testing was performed using an instrumented indenter and the results interpreted using a finite-element model with a Ramberg-Osgood constitutive law to extract elastic and plastic material properties. The observed results were highly repeatable and appear to be sensitive to variations in both sample dimensions and material properties. These qualities suggest that the testing methodology may have significant value as a quality control technique in the fabrication of metal micro-electromechanical systems.