18 μm electrodeposited copper foil for flex fatigue applications

The strain‐based flex fatigue of 18 μm thick copper foil is evaluated over a wide range of strain amplitudes. Seven electrodeposited foils, four commercial grades and three experimental foils, and a commercial grade rolled foil are characterized. The fatigue life versus cyclic strain amplitude curve in the high strain amplitude (low cycle) and low strain amplitude (high cycle) regimes is developed for each foil. On the basis of fatigue life (N_f) and fatigue ductility (D_f), the low cycle fatigue performance of eight foils is ranked. Universal correlations of N_f and D_f with the uniaxial tensile strength are established. Two electrodeposited foils, experimental foil DF 8 in the high strain amplitude regime and commercial foil DF 9 in the low strain amplitude regime, have been shown to display fatigue performance comparable to that of the commercial rolled GR 8 foil.