Extraction of microstructural parameters from sculptured thin films nanoindentation

Abstract

This work deals with the indentation analysis of nanocolumnar thin films and the difficulties encountered to deduce relevant mechanical parameters by this methodology. SiO 2 thin films prepared by physical vapour oblique angle deposition with different nanocolumnar microstructures have been subjected to indentation analysis. Despite the fact that the films had been made of the same material, deposited on the same substrate and had similar thickness, their indentation responses were different and depended on their particular microstructure. It has been also reali s ed that the measured hardness and elastic modulus variation with the indentation depth were length scale dependent and that there is not a unique analytical thin-film nanoindentation model to extract the mechanical properties from the experimental nanoindentation curves. To overcome these limitations a numerical finite element model (FEM) of the nanocolumnar coatings has been built to figure out the contributions of the different physical phenomena intervening in the indentation process. This FEM simulation relies on a description of the elasto-plastic microstructural units of the coatings and the contact friction interactions between them. Based on this simulation a parametrical representation, incorporating two length scales and the contributions of densification and/or the buckling of nanocolumnar units, has been developed to account for the evolution of the apparent elastic modulus deduced from numerical indentation tests . A Hall-Petch modification of this description considering two length scales instead of the common approximation considering a single length scale has rendered the best agreement with the elastic values determined experimentally. Although, at the present stage, the particular microstructure of the films can not be deduced from the evolution of their elastic moduli with the indentation depth, the obtained results and their interpretation constitute a first though essential step for the elaboration of an inverse analysis methodology capable of correlating microstructure and elastic response of nanocolumnar coatings. • The indentation response of multi-layered PVOAD columnar coatings greatly depends on their microstructure. • Buckling but also densification drive the evolution of indentation elastic modulus and hardness with indentation depth. • FEM of a columnar structure under indentation allow s to reproduce the experimental response of multi-layered PVOAD coatings. • Size dependent model allows to extract length scale parameters from elastic response of PVOAD coatings.