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Title: An investigation of thin-film coating/substrate systems by nanoindentation

Journal Article · · Journal of Engineering Materials and Technology
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2807005· OSTI ID:634586
; ;  [1];  [2]
  1. Univ. of Delaware, Newark, DE (United States)
  2. Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)

The indentation load-displacement behavior of three material systems tested with a Berkovich indenter has been examined. The materials studied were the substrate materials--silicon and polycarbonate, and the coating/substrate systems--diamond-like carbon (DLC) coating on silicon, and DLC coating on polycarbonate. They represent three material systems, namely, bulk, soft-coating/hard-substrate, and hard-coating on soft-substrate. Delaminations in the soft-coating/hard-substrate (DLC/Si) system and cracking in the hard-coating/soft-substrate system (DLC/Polycarbonate) were observed. Parallel to the experimental work, an elastic analytical effort has been made to examine the influence of the film thickness and the properties of the coating/substrate systems. Comparisons between the experimental data and analytical solutions of the load-displacement curves during unloading show good agreement. The analytical solution also suggests that the Young`s modulus and hardness of the thin film can not be measured accurately using Sneddon`s solution for bulk materials when the thickness of the film is comparable to the loading contact radius of the indenter. The elastic stress field analysis provides a basis for understanding the experimentally observed delaminations and cracking of the coating/substrate systems.

Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
OSTI ID:
634586
Journal Information:
Journal of Engineering Materials and Technology, Vol. 120, Issue 2; Other Information: PBD: Apr 1998
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English