NanoIndenter Wins AVS Product Award

AVS and Asylum Research have announced that Asylum’s MFP-3D™ NanoIndenter has been selected as one of the top five products exhibited at the AVS International Symposium in October. Asylum’s MFP NanoIndenter is a true ‘instrumented’ indenter and is the first AFM-based indenter that does not use cantilevers as part of the indenting mechanism. These characteristics and the use of state-of-the-art AFM sensors provide substantial advantages in accuracy, precision and sensitivity over other nanoindenting systems. Unlike cantilever indenters, the MFP NanoIndenter drives the indenting tip perpendicular to the surface. This vertical drive avoids the lateral movement and errors that are inherent in cantilever-based systems. Compared to conventional instrumented nanoindenters, the MFP NanoIndenter provides lower detection limits and higher resolution measurements of force and indentation depth with the superior precision of AFM sensing technology. The positioning accuracy is subnanometer using the MFP’s closed loop nanopositioning sensors. The NanoIndenter can operate under fluid and at temperatures up to 300C.

Asylum Research President, Dr Roger Proksch, commented: “Our MFP NanoIndenter offers clear advantages over both AFM-based and conventional nanoindenters and the AVS Product Award further validates our approach. The indenter is completely integrated with the AFM, providing the unique ability to quantify contact areas by performing AFM metrology of both the indenting tip and the resulting indentation. These direct measurements enable analysis of material properties with unprecedented accuracy relative to indirect calculation methods.”