Deconvolution of mechanical properties of thin films from nanoindentation measurement via finite element optimization

A deconvolution method that combines nanoindentation testing with finite element analysis was developed to determine elastic modulus of thin films in a film-substrate bilayer system. In this method, an iterative deconvolution approach was developed to optimize the load–displacement curve obtained from a finite element nanoindentation model towards the experimentally measured curve. The method was verified by using SiNx/Si and Ni/Si film/substrate bilayer systems fabricated under different deposition conditions. The results obtained from this method agree very well with those from an empirical method.

► A deconvolution method was developed to determine elastic modulus of thin films.
► It combines nanoindentation testing with finite element optimization algorithm.
► More accurate results were achieved in comparison to other numerical methods.
► The result from the method agrees well with empirical method.