Nanoindentation of silver nanowires

The hardness and elastic modulus of a silver nanowire was measured using a nanoindenter. It was found that the silver nanowire has comparable hardness and elastic modulus to bulk silver. An array of nanoscale indents was successfully made on the wire by directly indenting the wire. The shape and size of the indents are controllable. The nanoindentation approach permits the direct machining of nanowires without the complications of conventional lithography.