%0 Journal Article
%T Towards Quantitative Characterisation of the Small Force Transducer Used in Nanoindentation Instruments
%A Zhi Li
%A Uwe Brand
%J Modern Instrumentation
%P 61-67
%@ 2165-9273
%D 2013
%I Scientific Research Publishing
%R 10.4236/mi.2013.24009
%X <p class=\"MsoNormal\">
	<span lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;\">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</span><span lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;\">,</span><span lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;\"> 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 </span><span lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;\">on </span><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;\">nano-force transfer standard with nano-Newton (10-</span><sup><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;\">9</span></sup><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;\"> Newton)
resolution and a bandwidth up to 6 kHz ha</span></span><span lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;\">ve</span><span lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;\"> been employed. Preliminary
experimental results indicate that</span><span lang=\"EN-US\"> </span><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;\">1) the force transducer under calibration has a
probing force uncertainty less than 300 nN (1</span><i><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;\">¦Ò</span></i><span style=\"font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;\">) in the calibration range of 1 mN</span></span><span lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;\">; </span><span lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;\">2) the transient duration
at contact points amounts to 10 seconds</span><span lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;\">; </span><span lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;\">3) the overshoot of
engagement is pre-load dependent.</span><span lang=\"EN-US\"><o:p></o:p></span> 
</p>
%K Nanometrology
%K Nanoindentation Instrument
%K Nano-Force Transducer
%K Microelectromechanical Systems
%K Nano-Force Calibration
%U http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=37394