Deformation model of brittle and ductile materials under nano-indentation

This study proposes a deformation model to elucidate the deformation behaviors of buck materials during various stages of nano-indentation processes. The deformation model presented in this work can be employed to explain the variation of nanohardness with loading conditions, and to elucidate the pop-in phenomenon during nano-indentation. The effect of holding time on hardness is also explained. Brittle materials, Si wafer, and a ductile material, Al single crystal, are used as test specimens in nano-indentation. The experimental results demonstrate that the deformation mechanism developed in this investigation can explain the deformation phenomena of such materials on the nano-scale.