Application Note | High-Speed Nanoindentation
FastMap High Speed Nanoindentation Mapping
Mapping Hardness and Modulus Across a Circuit Board Wire and Substrate in Minutes
Research & Experimental Testing
Duanjie Li
Visual Design & Editorial
Andrew Shore
Introduction
Nanoindentation has become a widely applied technique for measuring the mechanical behaviors of materials at small scales1, 2. The high-resolution load-displacement curves from the nanoindentation measurement can provide a variety of physico-mechanical properties, including hardness, Young’s modulus, creep, fracture toughness and many others.
Importance of Fast Nanoindentation for Quality Control in Mass Production
One significant bottleneck for further popularization of the nanoindentation technique is time consumption. A mechanical property mapping by a conventional nanoindentation procedure can easily take hours, which hinders the application of the technique in mass production industries such as semiconductor, aerospace, MEMS and many others.
The mechanical integrity of circuit boards for integrated circuit (IC) chips is a key factor in manufacturing a failure-free product. As circuit board production technology progressively scales down into the micron and nanometer regime, it not only enables an increased number of components to be integrated on a single board, but also makes quality control of the circuit board more difficult and time-consuming. Thinner wires with a more complex structure bring challenges to the mechanical integrity checkup. A fast but reliable nanoindentation procedure is needed in quality control and R&D.
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Measurement Objective
In this application, the NANOVEA Mechanical Tester, in FastMap mode, is used to map the mechanical properties of a circuit board at high speed. We would like to showcase the capacity of the NANOVEA Mechanical Tester in performing fast nanoindentation mapping with high precision and reproducibility.
NANOVEA PB1000 Large Platform
Mechanical Tester
Test Conditions
The NANOVEA Mechanical Tester was used to perform a series (10 × 10, spaced 0.04 mm apart, 100 indents in total) of nanoindentations with the FastMap mode on a circuit board using a Berkovich indenter. All indentations were performed to a maximum load of 300 mN at a rate of one indent per three seconds.
Results and Discussion
The load-displacement curves of the ceramic substrate and the metal wire are shown in Fig. 2 as an example. The image of the 10 × 10 indentation matrix is displayed in Fig. 3. In order to demonstrate the mechanical behaviors of different materials, the indentation matrix is planned at the border of the metal wire and ceramic substrate. The high-precision position control of the sample stage allows users to pinpoint the target area for mechanical properties mapping.
The hardness and Young’s modulus calculated using the Oliver and Pharr method3 are summarized and compared in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5. The metal wire and ceramic substrate exhibit distinct mechanical properties: the metal wire possesses an average hardness of ~2.7 GPa and Young’s modulus of ~53.5 GPa, compared to ~20.5 GPa and ~128 GPa, respectively, for the ceramic substrate.
Such a 10 × 10 indentation matrix was finished within minutes with superior precision and repeatability, thanks to the fast piezo load control and the direct load/displacement measurement of the NANOVEA Mechanical Tester. Compared to a conventional nanoindentation procedure, FastMap mode in this study is substantially less time-consuming and more cost-effective. It enables speedy quantitative mapping of mechanical properties including Young’s modulus and hardness, and provides a solution for detecting mechanical defects of the circuit board, which is critical for quality control of a variety of materials in mass production.
Conclusion
In this study, we showcased the capacity of the NANOVEA Mechanical Tester in performing speedy and precise nanoindentation mapping using FastMap mode. The mechanical property map at the border of the metal wire and the ceramic substrate demonstrates the precise position control and accurate measurement of hardness and Young’s modulus of different materials at high speed. Fast nanoindentation is particularly important for quality control of precision devices and tools in mass production.
The Nano, Micro or Macro modules of the NANOVEA Mechanical Tester all include ISO and ASTM compliant indentation, scratch and wear tester modes, providing the widest and most user friendly range of testing available in a single system. In addition, optional 3D non-contact profiler and AFM Module are available for high resolution 3D imaging of indentation, scratch and wear track in addition to other surface measurements such as roughness.
References
1. Oliver, W. C.; Pharr, G. M., Journal of Materials Research, Volume 19, Issue 1, January 2004, pp. 3–20.
2. Schuh, C. A., Materials Today, Volume 9, Issue 5, May 2006, pp. 32–40.
3. Oliver, W. C.; Pharr, G. M., Journal of Materials Research, Volume 7, Issue 6, June 1992, pp. 1564–1583.
Frequently Asked Questions About FastMap Nanoindentation
Why does nanoindentation speed matter?
Conventional nanoindentation mapping can take hours, which limits its use in mass-production industries such as semiconductor, aerospace and MEMS; fast mapping makes it practical for quality control.
How fast was the FastMap test?
A 10 × 10 matrix of 100 indents, spaced 0.04 mm apart, at one indent every three seconds, finished within minutes.
What were the test conditions?
A Berkovich indenter to a maximum load of 300 mN, analysed by the Oliver and Pharr method.
What did the map show?
The matrix straddled the border of a metal wire and the ceramic substrate: the metal averaged ~2.7 GPa hardness and ~53.5 GPa Young’s modulus, the ceramic ~20.5 GPa and ~128 GPa.
Why test circuit boards?
As board technology scales down, thinner wires and more complex structures make mechanical integrity harder and slower to check; fast mapping helps detect mechanical defects.
How is the mapping area targeted?
High-precision position control of the sample stage pinpoints the area to map, here the boundary between wire and substrate.
