Microhardness study of two-layer nanostructures by a nanoindentation method

The paper presents a model describing the Vickers microhardness of a two-layer film on a substrate as a function of a submergence depth of a nanoindenter. On the base of this model, the deformation characteristics of a two-layer silicon carbide nanofilm grown on silicon by an atom substitution method were derived. The Vickers microhardnesses of each layer of the film as well as of a layer of modified silicon, serving as substrate, were obtained. The thickness of each layer of the film was determined, and a good correspondence between the results obtained by an indentation method and data of spectral ellipsometry was exhibited.