There has been considerable interest in the last two decades in the mechanical characterisation of thin film systems and small volumes of material using depth-sensing indentation tests. Usually, the principal goal of such testing is to obtain values for elastic modulus and hardness of the specimen material from experimental readings of indenter load and depth of penetration. But other properties such as residual stress, fracture toughness, and visco-elastic behavior may also be measured. The indentation technique can be used on both brittle and ductile materials where conventional testing may result in premature specimen fracture. The forces involved are usually in the millinewton range and measured with a resolution of a few nanonewtons while the depths of penetration are in the order of nanometres, hence the term "nanoindentation".

1. Contact Mechanics.- 2. Nanoindentation Testing.- 3. Analysis of Nanoindentation Test Data.- 4. Factors Affecting Nanoindentation Test Data.- 5. Simulation of Nanoindentation Test Data.- 6. Scaling Relationships in Nanoindentation.- 7. Time-Dependent Nanoindentation.- 8. Nanoindentation of Thin Films.- 9. Other Techniques in Nanoindenation.- 10. Nanoindentation Test Standards.- 11. Nanoindentation Test Instruments.- 12. Applications of Nanoindentation Testing.- Appendix 1. Elastic Indentation Stress Fields.- A1.1 Contact Pressure Distributions.- A1.2 Indentation Stress Fields.- A1.2.1 Spherical Indenter.- A1.2.2 Conical Indenter.- Appendix 2. Surface Forces, Adhesion and Friction.- A2.1 Adhesion Forces in Nanoindentation.- A2.2 Forces in Nature.- A2.3 Interaction Potentials.- A2.4 Van der Waals Forces.- A2.5 Surface Interactions.- A2.6 Adhesion.- A2.7 Friction.- Appendix 3. Common Indenter Geometries.- A3.1 Berkovich Indenter.- A3.2 Vickers Indenter.- A3.3 Knoop Indenter.- A3.4 Sphero-Conical Indenter.- Appendix 4. Non-Linear Least Squares Fitting.- Appendix 5. Properties of Materials.- Appendix 6. Frequently Asked Questions.- Appendix 7. Specifications for a Nanoindenter.- A7.1. Instrument Function.- A7.1.1 Loading Techniques.- A7.1.2 Test Schedules and Parameters.- A7.1.3 Indenters.- A7.2 Basic Specifications and Construction.- A7.2.1 Displacement Range, Resolution and Noise Floor.- A7.2.2 Force Range, Resolution and Noise Floor.- A7.2.3 Minimum Contact Load.- A7.2.4 Load Frame Stiffness.- A7.2.5 Loading Mechanism.- A7.2.6 Specimen Height.- A7.3 Specimen Positioning.- A7.4 Specimen Mounting.- A7.5 Optical Microscope and Imaging.- A7.6 Software.- A7.7 Accessories.- A7.8 Instrument Mounting and Isolation.- A7.9 Delivery, Calibration and Warranty.- A7.9.1 Delivery.- A7.9.2 Calibration.- A7.9.3 Warranty.- A7.10 Instrument/Supplier Checklist.