Instrumented indentation microscope: A powerful tool for the mechanical characterization in microscales

An instrumented indentation microscope was constructed and applied to the measurements of the Meyer hardness and the elastic modulus of several engineering materials ranging from ductile metals to brittle ceramics. Because of the in situ optical observation and determination of the indentation contact area that is synchronized to the indentation load versus depth relation, the mechanical properties determined on the indentation microscope are precise and reliable without any undesirable approximations and assumptions required for estimating the contact area. It is also demonstrated that the instrumented indentation microscope is capable of determining in a quantitative manner the in situ contact profiles of impression (sinking-in/piling-up profiles). The present work suggests that the instrumented indentation microscope will be a powerful tool in the science and engineering of indentation contact mechanics.