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A method for making substrate-independent hardness measurements of soft metallic films on hard substrates by nanoindentation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

Ting Y. Tsui ,
C. A. Ross  and
G. M. Pharr
Ting Y. Tsui
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science, Rice University, 6100 S. Main St., Houston, Texas 77005
C. A. Ross
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Mass Avenue, 13–4005 Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
G. M. Pharr
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science & Engineering, The University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 434 Dougherty Engineering Building, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996
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Abstract

A new method for making substrate-independent hardness measurements by nanoindentation techniques that applies to soft metallic films on very hard substrates is presented. The primary issue to be addressed is substrate-induced enhancement of indentation pileup and the ways it influences the indentation contact area. On the basis of experimental observations of soft aluminum films deposited on silicon, glass, and sapphire substrates, an empirical relationship was derived that relates the amount of pileup to the contact depth. From this relationship and the associated experimental observations, a method was developed that allows the intrinsic hardness of the film to be estimated, even when the indenter penetrates through the film into the substrate. The method should prove useful for very thin films (<100 nm) in which it is not possible to make measurements at penetration depths small enough to avoid subtrate effects.

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Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 18 , Issue 6 , June 2003 , pp. 1383 - 1391
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2003

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