Evaluation of the Surface Referencing Technique in Depth‐Sensing Indentation of Soft Materials

Abstract Thermal drift is an important consideration for reliable nanoindentation measurements. The surface‐referencing technique for eliminating thermal drift effects is critically assessed in this work. When applied to soft materials such as polymers and low‐melting metals, the surface‐referencing technique is found to cause a serious and problematic artificial drift due to the creep of the sample under the pressure exerted by the reference ring. A possible solution is proposed here to overcome this problem.