The Combined Application of Nanoindentation and Scanning Probe Microscopy to Materials Sciences

Nanoindentation, as all depth sensing hardness measurement techniques has different sources of error compared to conventional hardness and microhardness test methods. Surface effects, as roughness of the polished sample, and pile-up and sinking-in effects during the indentation process greatly affect the measured hardness value. Combination of the nanoindentation equipment with atomic force microscopy facilitates the study of these effects, and offers a key procedure also for methodological development in this field. (Example materials: aluminum, steel, glass.)