Influence of the mathematical model on the evaluation of nanomechanical properties of ultrathin polymer layers studied by AFM

Abstract

Abstract The major research topic presented in this study concerns nanoindentation experiments of thin soft films, showing high adhesion forces. The aim of this research was to evaluate the nanomechanical properties of a 200 nm thick thermoplastic polymer layer mr-I 7000E devoted to nanoimprint lithography. The experiments were carried out using an atomic force microscopy instrument equipped with a modified 14 N m− 1 silicon cantilever tip (5 μm in diameter). The forces exerted during film indentation varied from 0 up to 2.5 μN. The Hertz and Johnson – Kendall – Roberts (JKR) models were used for analysis of the force – distance curves in order to extract the Young's modulus value. Contrary to the Hertz model, in the JKR model the adhesion force between tip and sample was considered as an additional load during the nanoindentation. The final results of these estimations were 0.20 and 0.25 GPa for the Hertz and JKR models, respectively. It shows that neglect of the adhesion force may cause an error of 20 %.