The nanoindentation behaviour of hard and soft films on silicon substrates

Amorphous niobium oxide thin films

“…A common rule is to limit the indentation depth to less than 10% of the film thickness and this is generally used for the characterization of hard films deposited on soft substrates. However, in our case, the hardness of the Nb 2 O 5 films is lower than the hardness of the silicon substrates (9-12 GPa depending on orientation) [63]. In this situation there are some controversies about the applicability of the 10% limit.…”

Mechanical properties of intermetallic phases in multi-component Al–Si alloys using nanoindentation

“…Jang et al [28] have reported that the hardness of standard wafers of (100) Si were H ¼ 11.5 GPa to 12.5 GPa by using nanoindentation. Beegan et al [43] also reported that the average hardness of silicon substrates at depths greater than 50 nm was found to be 12.9 AE 0.5 GPa. These literature data are in good agreement with the experimental results obtained here for Si particles embedded in an Al-Si alloy.…”

ATR-FTIR and Nanoindentation Measurements of PMDA-ODA Polyimide Film under Different Curing Temperature

“…The loading curves of polyimide film exhibit continuous and smooth line-shape which suggests there is no de-bonding or cracking occurred during nanoindentation test. 25) Figure 6 shows the nano-hardness of polyimide film as a function of probed depth under different curing temperature. According to the Lugscheider assumption on absorption and oxidation layer of metal surface, 26) it is reasonable to postulate that there is a thin inhomogeneous layer (up to 100 nm) on top of the polyimide.…”