Conceptually, nanoindentation is a straightforward technique where an indenter probe of a well-known geometry is pushed into and withdrawn from the material's surface while force, displacement and time are continuously recorded. Extremely low force and displacement noise floors of 100 nN and 2Å are available from select instrument manufacturers and allow for the quantitative mechanical property measurements of very thin films, treated surface layers and small structural features.
The principal properties most often extracted using nanoindentation are the elastic modulus and indentation hardness of the test specimen. Additionally, by using complimentary techniques the storage and loss modulus, yield stress, fracture toughness, creep and stress relaxation studies, strain rate sensitivity, interfacial and surface adhesion, mechanical properties temperature dependence, and electrical contact resistance can be readily measured. Lateral probe motion can be employed to investigate the tribological behavior of surfaces, including scratch and mar resistance, wear performance, and friction coefficients. Combined, these techniques allow researchers to readily investigate a broad spectrum of mechanical and tribological properties of materials at the sub-micron scale.