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Measurement of hardness and elastic modulus by load and depth sensing indentation: Improvements to the technique based on continuous stiffness measurement

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  • Focus Issue: Advanced Nanomechanical Testing
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Abstract

The method to measure hardness and elastic modulus of small volumes of material by instrumented indentation was developed in the early works of Oliver and Pharr (1992, 2004). This helped to establish the field of small scale nanomechanical testing. Since then, several advances in measurement electronics have enabled testing over a wider range of test conditions (speeds) using methodologies that were developed earlier. Here, we present an updated overview of the various factors that affect the precision and accuracy of the nanoindentation test results at different test conditions with specific focus on the continuous stiffness measurement technique (CSM). A step-by-step procedure for performing a CSM based indentation test is presented. In addition, calibration procedures that yield the best possible precision and accuracy at the chosen test conditions are also presented. Finally, we present an assessment and comparison of the different testing procedures.

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Acknowledgments

GMP’s contributions to this work, which included the conception and design of methods, development of data analysis procedures, and manuscript preparation, were supported in part by the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, under Award No. DE-NA0003857. PSP, WCO and GMP’s contributions to this work were supported in part by the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum under Grant Number JC-045/2018.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy & New Materials (ARCI), Balapur P.O., Hyderabad, Telangana, 500005, India

    P. Sudharshan Phani

  2. KLA Corporation, 105 Meco Ln, Oak Ridge, TN, 37830, USA

    W. C. Oliver

  3. Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Texas A&M University, Mail Stop 3003, College Station, TX, 77843, USA

    G. M. Pharr

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  1. P. Sudharshan Phani
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Correspondence to P. Sudharshan Phani.

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G. M. Pharr was an editor of this journal during the review and decision stage. For the JMR policy on review and publication of manuscripts authored by editors, please refer to http://www.mrs.org/editor-manuscripts/.

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Sudharshan Phani, P., Oliver, W.C. & Pharr, G.M. Measurement of hardness and elastic modulus by load and depth sensing indentation: Improvements to the technique based on continuous stiffness measurement. Journal of Materials Research 36, 2137–2153 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1557/s43578-021-00131-7

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