Quantitative characterization of mechanical properties of small volumes of material under quasi-static and/or dynamic forcing. Properties such as viscoelastic modulii, hardness, creep, stress relaxation, and fracture toughness measured at the nanoscale and microscale. Nanoscratching uses lateral force to probe coatings and film adhesion
Applications: characterization of organic, inorganic, soft or hard materials and coatings such as thin and multilayer films, photoresists, paints and coatings, pharmaceuticals, metals and metal oxides, electronic/solar/semiconductor, polymers, glasses, ceramics, composites, biomaterials
