Put to the test in the smallest space

PTB presents a handy nanoindentation device for on-site applications at the CONTROL in Stuttgart

26.3.2008

[ptb] Imagine that for the annual routine check-up your dentist had to take your teeth out in order to examine them thoroughly for caries under a microscope. Wouldn't it be impratical? Up to now, the hardness and elasticity tests on extremely thin material layers have operated on a similar principle: The components supporting them have to, as a rule, be removed and tested on their characteristics using a table-sized device. The Physikalisch Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) has now developed a small, handy MEMS-supported nanoindentation device which can carry out measurements directly on the component without having to remove it beforehand. This novelty can be viewed at the CONTROL in Stuttgart from 22 to 25 April in hall 1, stand 1304.

The nanoindentation device developed by the PTB and carried out as MEMS belongs to a new generation of devices, because it is not only extraordinarily small, portable, and low in energy consumption, but it can also be produced with a high degree of accuracy and manufactured in series at low cost. In many places it is a practical and economical alternative to conventional tabletop devices.

The device is able to measure the hardness, elasticity and formability of layers thinner than a micrometer, and thus determine adhesion, durability and resistance to wear. Such layers and membranes are used, for example, for the protection of electronic components, such as perhaps in the case of the hard disk of a computer. They can also play a role, however, in the field of medicine, for example in the case of extremely thin catheters. Depending on the field of application, these thin layers must fulfil various requirements and may not break or flake under stress.

For the development of the nanoindentation device, the MEMS technique was used for the first time in this field. MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical system) is the designation of small components which consist of a combination of mechanical elements and electronic circuits. MEMS are installed in serial production, for example as acceleration sensors in airbags. At the CONTROL, the MEMS-supported nanoindentation device can be observed extremely accurately - namely through a lateral-confocal microscope. This novelty was also developed at the PTB and is used for the quality assurance of MEMS products. Conventional optical-confocal microscopes reach their limits at quantities of less than half a micrometer. By contrast, the lateral-confocal microscope is much more sensitive and able to show the behaviour of movable components in MEMS with nanometric resolution.

Patents have been filed for both devices. PTB regards such protective rights as an important part of the technology transfer into the economy and at the same time as proof of competence. To enterprises which wish to profit from the newest developments in measurement technology, sensor technology and production technology, the PTB offers cooperation within the scope of the technology transfer. Patents accord these cooperation partners and licence holders the necessary investment security. Also in the field of coordinate metrology, the PTB offers its services as a partner of the economy and presents its activities at the CONTROL. They range from calibration, certification and the development of new measuring methods, to the consulting service for industrial partners, and to the cooperation in industrial projects and the participation in standards committees.

URL of CONTROL
http://www.control-messe.de

Contacts at the PTB
MEMS-supported nanoindentation device and lateral-confocal microscope:
Dr. Konrad Herrmann, Department 5.1, Surface Metrology, Tel. +49 531 592 5140, E-mail: konrad.herrmann@ptb.de

Technology Transfer:
Dr. Bernhard Smandek, Technology Transfer, Tel. +49 531 592 8303, E-mail: bernhard.smandek@ptb.de

Coordinate Metrology:
Dr. Frank Härtig, Department 5.3 Coordinate Metrology, Tel. +49 531 592 5300, E-mail: frank.haertig@ptb.de

Exhibit description
(as *.pdf-file)