ABSTRACT
Nanoindentation, also called instrumented or depth-sensing indentation, provides information on mechanical properties by pressing an indenter into a specimen and calculating the pertinent property from its load and displacement [1-6], measured continuously during loading and unloading. Special devices, such as nanoindenters, work with loads from several tens of micronewtons to newtons and penetrations from tens of nanometers to tenths of a millimeter. This technique is very suitable for the study of properties of metals, ceramics, polymers, composites, or biological tissues in very small volumes or coatings and surface layers.
