An investigation into microstructure and particle distribution of Ni-P/diamond composite thin films

The present paper deals with a theoretical and experimental study of the co-deposition of spheroidal particles in a metal matrix deposited by autocatalytic chemical deposition (ACD), The 3-D particle size distribution - as measured by image analysis of SEM micrographs of metallographic cross-sections - is related to the size distribution of the starting powder - as measured by photon autocorrelation spectroscopy - through a simple analytical model, The application of the model to the co-deposition of diamond particles in an ACD Ni-P (9 wt.% P) amorphous matrix led to a correct prediction of average volume of embedded particles ((V) over bar), coverage factor (C-F) and number of co-deposited particles per unit volume of deposit (N-V).