MODELING AND FINITE-ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF ULTRA-MICROHARDNESS INDENTATION OF THIN-FILMS

High stresses and complex deformations usually develop in thin films d uring indentation tests. Understanding the stresses and deformations i n thin films is beneficial for the development of sound mechanical and thermomechanical components. This paper investigates the stress field and deformations in thin films under microindentation using finite el ement analysis. The featuzres of the distribution of stress and strain are described. The change of the stress distribution as a function of Young's modulus to the equivalent yield stress ratio (E/sigma(ey)) of the film is presented. The effects of the thickness of the film and t he radius of the indenter on the stress are investigated. The results from the finite element analysis are found to be in a good agreement w ith experimental data and can be used to develop a reliable mechanical design methodology.