Nanoscale mechanical property measurements using modified atomic forte microscopy

A new nanoindenter using AFM has been used for hardness and elastic modulus measurements with indentation depths as low as about 2 nm. The new indenter system is briefly described. The novelty of this system lies in its ability to make load-displacement measurements with subnanometer indentation depth sensitivity and to subsequently provide an in situ image of the indent. A three-sided pyramidal (Berkovich) diamond tip has been used for the indentation experiments, Experiments have been conducted on single-crystal silicon, single crystal gallium-arsenide and single-crystal aluminum. Comparison of the data obtained using this nanoindenter with that obtained using a commercial nanoindenter has been made. The load-displacement data have been used to obtain the nanoindentation hardness and Young's modulus of elasticity of single-crystal silicon and single-crystal aluminum. Hardness on a nano scale is found to be higher than on a microscale.