Fabrication and mechanical property of carbon nanotube/metal composites

In this work, we report the fabrication of aligned CNT/Ni/W composite materials. The vertically aligned CNTs are grown on Si by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition using Ni films as catalysts. The Ni-W alloys are then filled into the gaps between the CNT forests by electroplating, forming a dense, low-stress composite film. Their mechanical properties are investigated by nanoindentation technique. Results show that CNTs play a critical role in reducing the stress and improving the mechanical property of NiW alloy films.