Inverse Analysis of Multiple Indentation Unloading Curves for Thin Film Young's Modulus Evaluation

Abstract

The Oliver and Pharr method is the prevailing process for thin films Young's modulus evaluation. Introduced initially for homogeneous materials, this method does not account for the substrate and can consequently lead to significant error, especially at large indentation depths. We suggest here possible methods to improve the accuracy by making use of inverse analysis and finite element computations of the one layer elastic indentation problem.