The principal strengths of the nanoindentation technique, which is used extensively to measure the mechanical properties of nano/micro materials, are easy sample preparation and simple experimental method. Hardness and Young`s modulus are essential pr...
The principal strengths of the nanoindentation technique, which is used extensively to measure the mechanical properties of nano/micro materials, are easy sample preparation and simple experimental method. Hardness and Young`s modulus are essential properties measured by nanoindentation; hardness corresponds to resistance to plastic deformation whereas Young`s modulus is related to elastic deformation. Two key difficulties arise in association with nanoindentation on small volumes: measurement accuracy and material response. Here we discuss the indentation size effect (ISE) considering tip bluntness and variation in hardness of nano-multilayers with a bilayer period, representative research on measurement improvement, and material response at nanoscales.