Analysis of nanoindentation experiments by means of atomic force microscopy

Abstract

Nanoindentation is quite a common method for local material characterization. Values for hardness and Young's modulus can be determined directly from the recorded data. Essential for the correct determination of the material parameters is the precise measurement of the actual indentation depth of the indenter. The indenter measures the current depth by means of a Wheatstone bridge which correlates the indentation depth to a change in voltage. A possible tool for the verification of the recorded indentation depths is Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). AFM is able to scan an area of indents for almost any surface. The deflection of the tip is measured by a laser spot reflected from the surface of the cantilever. The difference in height between the surface and the indent can directly be read off from the plotted image. However, using an AFM only allows us to measure the depth of the permanent indentation depth after unloading the indenter. Nevertheless, correlation between the remaining indentation depths measured by the explained methods allows for a first assessment of the correctness of the online recorded depth-data by the nanoindenter.