NanoFlip^® Nano Indenter

High accuracy, high speed nano indentation in-situ in vacuum environments. Perform nanomechanical testing inside a SEM chamber, and synchronise SEM imaging with mechanical property data. Custom experiments can be easily configured. The suite of options available, such as the InForce50 electromagnetic actuator, combine to deliver quantitative results that lead to valuable solutions in material research.

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

Large suite of pre-programmed nanomechanical test methods for improved ease-of-use
InForce 50 actuator for capacitance displacement measurement and electromagnetic force actuation with interchangeable tips
InQuest high-speed controller electronics with 100kHz data acquisition rate and 20µs time constant
XYZ motion system for sample targeting

SEM video capture for synchronized SEM images with test data
Unique software-integrated tip-calibration system for fast, accurate tip calibration
InView control and data review software with Windows ®10 compatibility and method developer for user-designed experiments

Flexible In-Situ Nano Indentation

The KLA NanoFlip is a flexible and expandable platform for performing nanomechanical testing in-situ with a variety of imaging instruments. The NanoFlip’s sample stage features a “flip” mechanism, which rotates the sample, allowing for direct imaging of the surface, or indentation of the surface. When indenting, the indenter and surface remain visible, allowing for indenter and sample interactions to be viewed in real time.

The NanoFlip can be used in-situ inside a wide range of imaging instruments. Optical profilers and optical microscopes, SEM and FIB systems, AFM systems, Raman Spectroscopy, and other instruments are all supported. The NanoFlip can also be used standalone inside a glove box or vacuum chamber for sensitive samples requiring a controlled environment.

Simplified Operation with Synchronised Imaging

KLA are making nanomechanical testing simple and easy with the InView software package. InView provides a modern and flexible interface for interacting with nano indentation systems. A guided setup is provided, which allows even novice users to configure mechanical tests in under a minute. A wide range of mechanical test methods are included out of the box. Custom test protocols can also be configured.

InView allows imaging to be synchronised with mechanical test data in real time. Live imaging from a SEM or other instrument is displayed side by side with testing data as it is recorded. This provide greater level of insight into the interactions of the indentation tip and sample material.

A Complete Range of Mechanical Tests

To suit the widest range of applications, the NanoFlip platform is capable of a multitude of mechanical test types. The NanoFlip can perform hardness and modulus testing (Oliver-Pharr) on many materials, including very soft samples. ISO 14577 hardness testing is included as standard. For material characterisation, scratch and wear testing is also possible, and supports many materials, including thin films, brittle ceramics, and polymers.

A variety of advanced testing modes are also available. These include Continuous Stiffness Measurement (CSM), AccuFilm™ thin film measurement with substate-independence, and ProbeDMA™ for testing viscoelastic properties of polymers.

Designed for Accuracy & Efficiency

The NanoFlip is a quick and accurate solution for in-situ nano indentation. The InForce actuators developed by KLA use electromagnetic force actuation and capacitance displacement technology. By decoupling the force actuation and displacement measurement, it is possible to independently optimise them and maximise performance. KLA’s InForce actuators have a high stiffness and maximised vertical stability, and offer the highest calibration stability available.

The NanoFlip’s stage has a high frame stiffness, concentrating deformation in the sample, and thus improving accuracy and resolution. High precision linear optical encoders on the sample stage allow for precise sample targeting.

Map Nanomechanical Properties with NanoBlitz 3D & NanoBlitz 4D

NanoBlitz 3D creates 3D nanomechanical property maps. Utilising the NanoFlip’s high-precision XY stage, NanoBlitz 3D generates an array of up to 100,000 indents on an area of a sample. For each indent Young’s modulus, hardness, and stiffness values are recorded. A 3D mechanical property map can then be created, providing a visualisation of surface mechanical properties. NanoBlitz 3D is fast, performing stage movement and indentation in less than a second for each indent.

By combining the 3D concept with the NanoFlip’s Continuous Stiffness Measurement (CSM) capability, NanoBlitz 4D provides mechanical property tomography. An array of up to 10,000 indents are performed, at 5 to 10 seconds per indent, recording Young’s modulus, hardness, and stiffness values for each as function of depth. Property maps can then be visualised at different depths.

Shown Left: NanoBlitz 3D image showing stiffness mapping
Shown Right: NanoBlitz 4D mapping at two different depths

Industries

Universities, research labs and institutes
Pillar and microsphere manufacturing
MEMS: Micro-electro-mechanical systems
Materials manufacturing (structure compression/tensile/fracture testing)
Battery and component manufacturing

Applications

Hardness and modulus measurements (Oliver-Pharr)

The NanoFlip nanoindenter measures hardness and modulus for a wide variety of materials, from ultra-soft gels to hard coatings. The high throughput assessment of these properties enables quality control and assurance on production lines.

Continuous stiffness measurement

Continuous stiffness measurement is used to quantify dynamic material properties, such as strain rate and frequency-induced effects. The NanoFlip nanoindenter provides dynamic excitation from 0.1Hz to 1kHz, enabling time-based monitoring for accurate determination of initial surface contact and continuous measurement of contact stiffness as a function of depth or frequency.

High speed material property maps

For composite materials, the mechanical properties may vary widely from one area to the next. NanoFlip provides a sample stage movement of 21mm in the X and Y axes, and 25mm in the Z axis, allowing in situ mechanical testing of a wide range of sample heights over a sample area. The optional NanoBlitz Topography and Tomography software can quickly generate colour maps of any of the measured mechanical properties.

ISO 14577 hardness testing

The NanoFlip nanoindenter includes a pre-written ISO 14577 test method to measure material hardness in compliance with the ISO 14577 standard. This test method automatically measures and reports Young’s modulus, instrumented hardness, Vickers hardness and normalised work-of-indentation.

Polymer Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA)

Polymers are exceptionally complex materials. In order to gain useful information for polymer design decisions, mechanical property measurements should be made on a relevant sample in a relevant context. Nanoindentation in situ mechanical testing makes such context-specific measurements more accessible because samples can be small and minimally prepared. The NanoFlip nanoindenter 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.

Quantitative scratch and wear testing

The NanoFlip can perform scratch and wear testing on a variety of materials. Coatings and films are subjected to many processes, such as chemical and mechanical polishing (CMP) and wire bonding, that test the strength of these films and their adhesion to the substrate. It is important for these materials to resist plastic deformation during these processes and remain intact without blistering up from the substrate.

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