Particulate strengthened Ni–Al<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>3</SUB> microcomposite HARMs for harsh-environmental micromechanical applications

The LIGA micromachining process can be used to fabricate high-aspect-ratio microstructures (HARMs), usually from electroplated nickel (Ni). In recent years, there has been a growing demand for applications involving HARMs subjected to harsh environments such as high temperatures, high pressures, constant erosion and friction. Numerous mechanical characterizations and tests revealed that LIGA-fabricated Ni devices might not meet the criteria required in these applications due to their insufficient mechanical and tribological properties under service conditions. By incorporating particulates into the electroplated Ni HARMs, LIGA-compatible particulate strengthened metal matrix composite microstructures result with substantially higher strength and wear resistance. In this paper, nickel–alumina (Ni–Al₂O₃) composite microstructures were electrodeposited into x-ray-patterned high-aspect-ratio polymethyl-methacrylate (PMMA) cavities from Ni sulfamate electrolytes containing submicron Al₂O₃ particles. The resulting microstructures were characterized with the use of a scanning electron microscope, a energy dispersive x-ray spectrometer, a wavelength dispersive x-ray spectrometer, a transmission electron microscope and a microhardness tester. It was found that the electrolytes containing surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) alone led to particle agglomeration in deposited microstructures, while homogenous composites were obtained from a bath containing SDS, saccharin and coumarin. Bath agitation has little effect on the particle dispersion under the conditions studied. A hypothesis in view of alumina solid/electrolyte interaction was proposed to better understand the evolution of the agglomerates. It suggests an approach to manipulate the composite material properties by optimizing surfactants to control the balance between the attractive van der Waals force and repulsive force of like-charged particles. Examinations showed that the hardness of the composites was substantially increased due to incorporation of Al₂O₃ particles.