Table of Contents
What is nanoindentation testing?
Nanoindentation, also called instrumented indentation testing, is a variety of indentation hardness tests applied to small volumes. Indentation is perhaps the most commonly applied means of testing the mechanical properties of materials.
How does nanoindentation work?
During the nanoindentation process, a calibrated indenter tip approaches the surface of the sample. The force-displacement data is used to determine the point of contact. After the sample is contacted, the force is linearly increased and the tip indents into the surface of the sample.
What is pile up and sink in in the context of nanoindentation tests?
Pile-ups and sink-ins influence the measurement of the contact area in indentation hardness testing particularly when the indent size becomes significantly small, i.e. in nanoindentation.
How is Nano hardness measured?
Nanohardness testing refers to hardness tests wherein the depth of indentation usually is less than about 50 nm or equivalently, the indentation diameter/length is lower than about 150 nm. To obtain such low indentation depths, applied loads on the indenter are usually in the range 0.1–100 mN.
How much does a Nanoindenter cost?
An IIT instrument with the capacity of performing nanoindentation generally costs above $100k. The requirement of special expertise and big budget substantially limits the further application of IIT technique in a broader market.
What are the applications and the significance of nanoindentation?
Nanoindentation is a method of measurement of the mechanical properties of small volumes of materials using an instrumented indentation technique. Elastic modulus, hardness, fracture toughness, creep and dynamic properties such as storage and loss moduli can be measured.
What is nanoindentation modulus?
Nanoindentation is a technique developed in the mid-70s of the last century to measure the elastic modulus, hardness, and fracture toughness of solid materials.
What are the advantages of nanoindentation testing?
Nanoindentation has advantages over traditional mechanical testing, providing both elastic modulus and hardness data from a single test. Integrated indentation testing (IIT) automates the indentation process so hundreds of tests with micron spatial resolution can be performed on a small sample size.
What is nanoindentation hardness testing?
This hardness testing technique allows for the analysis of samples which are otherwise too small for conventional physical testing techniques. Nanoindentation is a hardness testing technique for measuring the physical properties of samples such as film layers which are often too small for conventional physical testing techniques.
How do I test my sample for nanoindentation?
Samples to be tested by nanoindentation have to be rigidly mounted and also have a relatively flat testing surface. Nanoindentation samples are frequently prepared using the same techniques as samples prepared for electron microscopy, which require mounting them in a rigid matrix such as epoxy and then polishing the testing surface flat.
What is the best method to measure mechanical properties of nanoindentation?
There are numerical or empirical solutions like Doerner&Nix, Gao, and Zhou&Prorok models to derive the true film mechanical properties regardless the indentation depth. Furthermore, nanoindentation is ideal for small scale creep, relaxation, visco-elastic, and dynamic mechanical measurements.