Material characterization based on instrumented indentation

Nanotechnology has emerged as a key area of technology innovation with numerous potential applications. The capability of predicting mechanical properties of materials at this scale offers critical information for device designer to materials and processing techniques. The indentation of elastic-plastic strain hardening materials which can be described by power 1aw was investigated using the finite element method. Large deformation finite element analyses were carried out on various combinations of elasto-plastic properties covering a wide range of materials. A conical indenter with a half angle of 70.3° and a Poisson's ratio of 0.33 were adopted throughout the study. A method has been conceived to establish the elasto-plastic properties of materials based on the load-displacement curve of instrumented indentation experiment. The method can also be applied to predict the indentation response for a given set of elasto-plastic material properties. Comprehensive studies carried out demonstrate the non-uniqueness of reverse analysis algorithms.