Electroplating process of Ni-CNTS nanocomposite for MEMS resonator fabrication

The paper presents an electroplating process for Ni-Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) nanocomposite micro-resonator (or μ-resonator) fabrication. Two kinds of chemical treatments, H₂SO₄/H₂O₂ and Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) have been utilized for the surface modification of CNTs, respectively. The resonant frequency and Q factor of the SDS treated Ni-CNTs nanocomposite resonators are 30.65 kHz and 221, respectively. The values are higher than that of the one made of pure Ni and the H₂SO₄/H₂O₂ mixture treated Ni-CNTs nanocomposite. They are 29.35 kHz, 190, and 30.35 kHz, 198, respectively. The experimental results indicate a better dispersion treatment on the CNTs in an electroplating bath could result in more incorporated CNTs in the Ni matrix and exhibit better improvement of device performance.