Relevance of Nanoindentation Experiments in Materials Research-A Review

A B S T R A C T Nano indentation is now commonly used for the study of mechanical properties of materials on the nanoscale.. It offers a direct measure of contact stiffness during the loading portion of an indentation test and, being somewhat insensitive to thermal drift, allows an accurate observation of small volume deformation. Nano scale damage caused by fatigue is of critical importance to the reliability of ultrathin protective overcoats and micro/nanostructures. The cyclic loading used in the nanoidentation makes the technique useful for the evaluation of nanofatigue. Methodologies of the nanoindentation technique used for the characterization of layered materials and nonhomogeneous composites are reviewed and discussed. Applications of the nanoindentation experiments to the measurement of contact stiffness, elastic modulus, hardness, creep resistance, and fatigue properties of the materials are presented. The nanoindentation in conjunction with nanoscratch and friction and wear tests, can be satisfactorily used for the materials characterization of magnetic storage and micro electromechanical systems (MEMS) devices and should find more application