Sample Reports

This sample report shows the effects of chemical exposure on the viscoelastic properties of O-rings. Each O-ring was characterized for storage modulus, loss modulus, and loss factor over a range of frequencies using nanoindentation.

Lithium based samples pose a challenge for mechanical testing due to their reactivity with moisture in the air. In the Nanomechanics' Analytical Service Laboratory, we are able to provide nanoindentation testing with the sample submerged in fluid. This article presents some of the nanoindentation work under fluids that has been  completed in our labs. It also includes results for a fused silica reference material in dry conditions and submerged under mineral oil to verify that the results for elastic modulus and hardness were not adversely affected by the mineral oil.

This report covers the reporting of hardness and elastic modulus results on thin low-k films. Commonly, the minimum properties are reported when testing soft films on hard substrates; however, with sub-micron films, these minimum properties can be heavily affected by errors in the tip area functions, environmental noise, and substrate influences. This report examines the results of a test technique which accurately accounts for the substrate influence and provides substrate-independent results of elastic modulus. These results are compared to the common technique of reporting minimum properties. All of the films presented have thicknesses between 400 nm and 600 nm. The results show and explain the importance of using models that account for the substrate influences in reporting the elastic modulus of the samples. It also shows that the hardness results are affected very little by substrate influences at 10% of the film thickness.