Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2011
Nanoindentation tests using the Berkovich indenter tip were performed on 50 and 200 nm thick polycrystalline gold films deposited on hard substrates. Gold film hardness increased with the indentation depth due to the influence of the substrate. A procedure based on the Joslin-Oliver method was introduced to correct for the substrate effect. The method utilizes the fact that the measured elastic modulus does not change significantly with the indentation depth, which allows reducing the contact area variation used in the hardness calculation.