Nano Indenter^® G200

The Nano Indenter^®G200 is designed for nanoscale measurements during characterisation and development of a wide range of materials. The G200 measures Young’s modulus and hardness, including measurement of deformation over six orders of magnitude, from nanometres to millimetres. The nanoindenter system can also measure the complex modulus of polymers, gels and biological tissue as well as the creep response (strain rate sensitivity) of thin metallic films.

Manufacturer

KLA

A global technology leader who make an impact by creating solutions that drive progress and transform industries. Collaboration is the key to their success. KLA provide leading-edge technology and devices using advanced inspection tools, metrology systems, and computational analytics. Their solutions accelerate tomorrow’s electronic devices. They enable evolution and innovation in the data era across key industries including automotive, mobile and data centre.

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Key Features

Electromagnetic actuator to achieve the high dynamic range in force and displacement
Modular options for imaging scratches, high-temperature nanoindentation measurements, and dynamic testing
Intuitive interface for quick test setup; testing parameters can be changed with just a few mouse clicks
Real-time experimental control, easy test protocol development and precise thermal drift compensation

Award-winning, high-speed express test option to measure hardness and modulus
Versatile imaging capabilities, survey scanning, and streamlined test method development for rapid results
Simple determination of indenter area function and load frame stiffness

Accurate, Flexible, & User-friendly Nano Indentation

The culmination of decades of research and development, the KLA Nano Indenter G200 is the world's most accurate, flexible, and user-friendly instrument for nanoscale mechanical testing. Electromagnetic actuation allows the Nano Indenter G200 to achieve unparalleled dynamic range in force and displacement. Furthermore, KLA's innovative Express Test option, an award-winning technology that allows the world's fastest nanoindentation for mechanical-properties mapping, is compatible with all G200 indentation DCMII and XP heads, and stages.

The Nano Indenter G200 enables users to measure Young's modulus and hardness in compliance with ISO 14577. The G200 also enables measurement of deformation over six orders of magnitude (from nanometers to millimeters). Modular options can be added to accommodate a variety of applications. The capabilities of the G200 can be extended to facilitate frequency-specific testing, quantitative scratch and wear testing, integrated probe-based imaging, high-temperature testing, expanded load capacity up to 10N, and customizable test protocols.

With the Nano Indenter G200, users are able to quantify the relationship between structure, properties, and performance of their materials quickly and easily with minimal sample preparation. The user-friendly design of the G200 simplifies training requirements - standard tests can be run on the same day the instrument is installed. Every G200 is backed by highly responsive KLA customer service personnel. Knowledgeable and experienced regional applications engineers are available to guide users through more advanced testing, provide outstanding technical support, and offer unmatched applications expertise.

Advanced Design

All nanoindentation experiments rely on the accuracy of the fundamental load and the displacement data, requiring the highest precision control of load applied to the sample. The Nano Indenter G200 is powered by electromagnetic actuation-based force transducers to ensure precise measurements. The instrument's unique design avoids lateral displacement artifacts.

Among the many benefits of the Nano Indenter G200 design are convenient access to the entire sample tray, excellent sample positioning accuracy, easy viewing of the sample position and the sample work area, and simplicity in sample height adjustment to speed test throughput. The modular controller design is optimized for future upgrades. In addition, the G200 conforms to ISO 14577 to ensure data integrity, gives users the ability to program experiments with each force transducer and switch between them at any time, and has an optimized lateral footprint to conserve lab space.

Enhanced NanoSuite Professional Software

Every Nano Indenter G200 comes with KLA NanoSuite Professional software, a premium-performance package that gives researchers in scientific and industrial settings an unprecedented combination of speed, flexibility, and ease of use. NanoSuite offers a variety of prewritten test methods, including an exclusive nanoindentation technique for making substrate-independent measurements of thin film materials, several novel techniques for testing polymers, and improved scratch test methods. KLA's field-proven method for testing in compliance with ISO 14577, the international standard for indentation testing, is provided as well.

NanoSuite includes a fully integrated tool that greatly simplifies the determination of indenter area function and load-frame stiffness. Once a rather involved and time-consuming endeavor, this process now requires only a couple of mouse-clicks within the NanoSuite > 6.2 program. Prewritten methods for testing gels (DCM II indentation head and CSM option required) and for measuring strain-rate sensitivity (XP indentation head and CSM option required). Additional new capabilities allow a standard batch of tests comprising 25 or more samples to be set up in 5 minutes or less, 2D and 3D graphs and histograms to be plotted on-screen and exported directly to Microsoft Excel while preserving all labels and scales, and sample files to be organized by project and subproject. NanoSuite > 6.2 also provides Microsoft Windows 7 (32-bit) compliance for current systems and a convenient PDF printer to replace hardware printers.

As in the package's previous iteration, an intuitive interface allows users to set up and run experiments quickly - changing test parameters as often as desired - with just a few clicks. NanoSuite > 6.2 offers support of small force/displacement measurements, surface topology, stiffness mapping, scratch tests, and more. Versatile imaging capabilities, a survey scanning option, and streamlined test method development help researchers get from testing to results in record time.

Industries

Universities, research labs and institutes
Semiconductor and electronics industry manufacturing
Tire industry
Coating and paint industry
Biomedical industry
Medical devices
And more: Contact us with your requirements

Applications

High-speed hardness and modulus measurement

Mechanical characterisation of materials is important in the research and development of new materials. The Nano Indenter G200 is capable of measuring hardness and modulus at rates up to 1s per data point. The high-speed assessment of these mechanical properties allows semiconductor and thin film manufacturers to apply advanced technology to quality control and assurance on their production line.

Interfacial adhesion measurement

Thin film delamination is generally induced by depositing a highly compressive layer that is capable of storing elastic energy. The interfacial adhesion measurement is critical to assist users in understanding the failure mode of the thin film. Nano Indenter G200 systems can initiate the interfacial fracture and measure the adhesion and residual stress properties of the multiple-layer thin film.

Fracture toughness measurement

Fracture toughness is the critical value of the stress-intensity factor at which catastrophic failure occurs under plane-strain conditions. Lower values of fracture toughness indicate a pre-existing flaw. Evaluating fracture toughness by nanoindentation is accomplished easily by using the Stiffness Mapping method. (Stiffness mapping requires the Continuous Stiffness Measurement and NanoVision options.)

Viscoelastic properties measurement

Polymers are exceptionally complex materials; their mechanical properties depend on chemistry, processing and thermo-mechanical history. Specifically, the mechanical properties depend on the type and length of the parent chain, branching, cross-linking, strain, temperature, and frequency, and these dependencies are generally interrelated. In order to gain useful information for making decisions when designing with polymers, mechanical property measurements should be made on a relevant sample in a relevant context. Nanoindentation testing makes such context-specific measurements more accessible, because samples can be small and minimally prepared. The Nano Indenter G200 system can also be used to measure complex modulus and the viscoelastic properties of the polymer by oscillating the indenter while in contact with the materials.

Scanning probe microscopy (3D imaging)

The Nano Indenter G200 system provides two scanning probe microscopy methods to characterise the crack length of indentation impression for measurement of fracture toughness in design applications. Fracture toughness is defined as the ability of a defective material containing a crack to resist fracture. The piezo stage of the Nano Indenter G200, with its high positioning accuracy combined with the NanoVision option, provides up to 1nm encoder resolution of step size with a maximum 100µm by 100µm scan size. The Survey Scanning software option combines the X/Y motion system with NanoSuite software to provide a maximum scan size of 500µm by 500µm. Both the NanoVision stage and Survey Scanning option are required to target precise areas of samples for nanoindentation testing and calculation of fracture toughness.

Wear and scratch resistance

The Nano Indenter G200 system can perform scratch and wear testing on a variety of materials. Coatings and films are subjected to many processes that test the strength of these films and their adhesion to the substrate, such as chemical and mechanical polishing (CMP) and wire bonding. It is important for these materials to resist plastic deformation during these processes and remain intact without blistering on the substrate. For dielectric materials, high hardness and elastic modulus are often required to support manufacturing processes.

High-temperature nanoindentation

Nanoindentation at elevated temperatures provides the ability to accurately measure the nanomechanical response of the materials up to, at and above the plasticity transition. Understanding material behaviour, for example deformation mechanisms and phase transformations, can enable prediction of material failure and improve control during thermomechanical processing. Varying the temperature during the primary mechanical testing methods is one way of measuring the plasticity transition of materials that are not easily tested on the nano-scale.

Industry

Hard Coatings

Typically, < 5µm thick hard coatings are applied to materials for surface protection, increased wear resistance, friction/lubrication, temperature resistance, and biocompatibility. The Nano Indenter G200 system can accurately perform ISO standardised nanoindentation testing and measure elastic modulus and hardness of the coating without influence from the substrate. The Nano Indenter G200 nanoindenter is also capable of measuring scratch hardness and wear resistance. In the case of high surface roughness coatings, the NanoBlitz 3D option can be used to quickly and quantitatively assess material properties.

Semiconductor Wafers

Semiconductor manufacturers often strive to produce the thin films with high mechanical integrity. KLA nanoindenters are capable of measuring elastic modulus and hardness of the thinnest films, without artefacts from the underlying substrate. Correlating real material changes to process parameters is critical for semiconductor applications.

Semiconductor Packaging

The performance and lifetime of an electronic component can depend upon the integrity of its packaging. KLA nanoindenters allow semiconductor packaging manufacturers to assess the mechanical properties of polymer underfills, solder strain-rate sensitivity, and the strength of metallic components.

Polymers and Plastics

Polymers and plastics are used in many applications due to their time-dependent deformation properties. Whether used as vibration dampers, extrusion materials, or medical implants, polymers are often analysed via dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). In many cases, the geometries of plastic components are not suitable for traditional DMA instruments. KLA nanoindenters are able to locally target areas on a plastic component and examine frequency-dependent storage and loss moduli and loss factors regardless of the geometry of the sample. Viscoelastic creep and stress relaxation properties can also be measured with the Nano Indenter G200.

Batteries and Energy Storage

Mechanical properties of battery materials are closely tied to the battery’s stability, charge capacity, and lifetime. The Nano Indenter G200 nanoindenter is well-suited for testing a wide range of battery materials, from soft lithium to hard ceramic substrates. The Nano Indenter G200 provides advanced measurement solutions in many environments, including dry rooms and glove boxes.

Research and Development

KLA nanoindenters are not only built for the precision and accuracy required by demanding R&D applications, but are also flexible scientific instruments. Whether measuring the mechanical properties of novel materials, examining the deformation mechanisms of metals, or analysing strain-rate sensitivity as a function of temperature, the Nano Indenter G200 provides a wide range of nanoindentation measurement capability to enable advanced research and accelerate development.

Automotive and Aerospace

KLA nanoindenters allow advanced characterisation of materials as a function of temperature, a key capability for automotive and aerospace applications. Strength, stiffness, and time-dependent mechanical properties are all measurable using Nano Indenter G200’s nanoindentation techniques.

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