Novel technique for measuring the mechanical properties of porous materials by nanoindentation

A new technique for measuring the elastic-plastic properties of porous thin films by means of nanoindentation is proposed. The effects of porosity on indentation hardness and modulus are investigated through finite element analyses based on the Gurson model for plastic deformation of ductile porous materials. Intrinsic mechanical properties of the thin film are obtained by eliminating both substrate and densification effects. The technique is applied to the special case of a porous, low-permittivity dielectric thin film. The results are in good agreement with those obtained independently using the plane-strain bulge test.