Effect of the nanocrystal formation on the properties of the electroless Ni-P deposit

The deposits of electroless nickel-phosphorus fabricated in different process were studied by means of OM, XRD and DTA. Three different kinds of microstructure, such as nano-crystalline, amorphous and co-existence of both, could be obtained by adjusting the process. Moreover, the hardness of the deposit changed according to the different microstructure. The hardness of deposit had a great increasing when the whole matrix was almost nanocrystalline structure. DTA results also indicated that the formation of nanocrystalline phase could improve the thermal stability of deposit. This conclusion provided a good theoretical basis for this Ni-P deposit using for wear and corrosion resistances in the technology area of MEMS/NEMS.