TITLE:
Towards Quantitative Characterisation of the Small Force Transducer Used in Nanoindentation Instruments
AUTHORS:
Zhi Li, Uwe Brand
KEYWORDS:
Nanometrology; Nanoindentation Instrument; Nano-Force Transducer; Microelectromechanical Systems; Nano-Force Calibration
JOURNAL NAME:
Modern Instrumentation,
Vol.2 No.4,
September
30,
2013
ABSTRACT: Quantitative characterization of the mechanical properties of materials
in micro-/nano-scale using depth-sensing indentation technique demands high performance
of nanoindentation instruments in use. In this paper, the efforts to calibrate
the capacitive force transducer of a commercial nanoindentation instrument are presented,
where the quasi-static characteristic of the force transducer has been calibrated
by a precise compensation balance with a resolution of ~1 nN. To investigate the
dynamic response of the transducer, an electrostatic MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical
System) based on nano-force transfer standard with nano-Newton (10-9 Newton)
resolution and a bandwidth up to 6 kHz have been employed. Preliminary
experimental results indicate that 1) the force transducer under calibration has a
probing force uncertainty less than 300 nN (1σ) in the calibration range of 1 mN; 2) the transient duration
at contact points amounts to 10 seconds; 3) the overshoot of
engagement is pre-load dependent.