Abstract

Microindentation is a rapid, inexpensive technique to determine the surface hardness of solids. The hardness of solids, as determined by microindentation techniques, often exhibits an increasing hardness as the indentation load is decreased. The indentation size effect has been observed in metals [Pethica et al., 1983], in semiconductors [Bifano, 1988; Pethica et al., 1983], in ceramics [Bifano et al., 1988; Bull et al., 1989], and in glasses [Bifano, 1988; Mason et al., 1992; Li and Bradt, 1992].

© 1994 Optical Society of America