Materials Science World Congress

Nano indentation is an extremely valuable technique used for the measurement of the mechanical properties of Nano scale materials, assuming that materials and devices are matters of ever greater size. The requirements of precision and accuracy of measurements are drastically high while a highly accurate method is available to characterize properties such as hardness, elastic modulus, and fracture toughness in thin films, coatings, and Nano-structured materials.

The base principle behind Nano indentation is the indentation of a sharp indenter-very typically diamond tip-into a surface with controlled force and measuring the depth of indentation in response to the force applied, which is used to derive the key mechanical properties. The most distinguishing feature of Nano indentation over other traditional indentation techniques is that it precisely controls penetration depth by the indenter and the force applied, to the nanometer and micro newton level, respectively.

Applications of Nano indentation are very significant, one of which will be in the studies concerning thin films and coatings-the area of semiconductor manufacture, microelectronics, and protective coatings. These thin films have unique mechanical properties, due to size effects and structural restrictions, which are quite different from their parents. In fact, Nano indentation provides an important instrument for such a kind of property research and determination at the Nano scale; thus it is an essential tool in optimizing the performance and durability of these materials in high-tech applications.

Nano indentation has increasingly been applied in biomaterial research. With regard to bone, dentin, and other biological tissues, Nano indentation will help investigators better understand the mechanical properties of such complex material at the micro level and thus gain insights into how they behave under stress and how they might be affected by the onset of disease or injury. Nano indentation with this regard would be used in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine terms, to find the mechanical compatibility of new biomaterials designed for implants and prosthetics.

Recent breakthroughs in Nano indentation techniques encompass high-temperature testing, in-situ indentation in SEM, and the novel Nano indentation methods for measuring time-dependent properties, such as creep and viscoelasticity. All these will make it possible to perform studies of material behavior under increasingly diverse environment conditions and for longer durations.

Nano indentation techniques are now used essentially for the understanding of mechanical properties at the Nano scale. Whether nanotechnology, materials science, or even biomedicine is being studied, this type of high-precision testing can shape and evaluate advanced materials in an increasingly miniaturized world.