NANOINDENTATION: A METHOD OF MEASUREMENT OF MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF THIN FILMS AND SMALL VOLUMES OF MATERIALS

摘要

The production and mechanical characterisation of thin films, in particular, hard thin films, has occupied scientists at many institutions within Australia and throughout the world during the past 20 years. At the CSIRO Division of Telecommunications and Industrial Physics, a significant research program in thin film production has been underway since the early 1980s. However, it is one thing to make a hard, thin film, but it is quite another thing to measure its mechanical properties without the results being influenced by the properties of the substrate material. Two of the most important mechanical properties are elastic modulus and hardness. The elastic modulus often determines the level of residual stress in the film arising from the deposition process and the subsequent strength of adhesion of the film to the substrate. The hardness determines the resistance of the film to plastic deformation. This is particularly important for hard thin films designed for cutting tools where it is desired that the cutting surface retain an edge.