Agilent Technologies Agilent NanoSuite 6.2 User manual

New Features and Benefits
• Newly integrated tool simplifies
determination of indenter area
function and load-frame stiffness
• Exclusive new test methods for
complex modulus, substrate-
independent properties, and
strain-rate sensitivity
• Standard batch of tests comprising
25 or more samples can be set up
in 5 minutes or less
• Revolutionary Express Test with
new batch-mode methods
• Create 2D and 3D graphs; export to
Excel with plotting options intact
• New file structure organizes
samples into projects and
sub-projects
• Microsoft Windows 7 (32-bit)
compliance for current systems
• Convenient PDF printer to replace
need for hardware printers
Applications
• Polymers
• Composites
• Thin film materials
• MEMS
• Stiffness mapping
• Scratch testing
Overview
The Agilent NanoSuite 6.2 software
package offers users of Agilent
Nano Indenter G200/G300 and
T150 UTM systems a variety of new
testing capabilities. We’ve added
new functionality to Express Test
(our option for ultra-fast testing):
batch mode, histogram plotting, and
an integrated thin-film model which
automatically accounts for substrate
influence. New methods are available
for measuring time-dependent
material properties, including complex
modulus of gels and strain-rate
sensitivity of thin metallic films.
New Agilent NanoSuite 6.2 Software
Unprecedented Functionality for
Nanoindentation and Tensile Testing
Data Sheet

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testing, NanoSuite 6.2 has a method
for testing in compliance with ASTM
C1557.
Our applications engineers keep
abreast of developments in material
science and testing so that each
release of NanoSuite features new
and improved test methods. With
NanoSuite 6.2, new indentation
methods measure the complex
modulus of polymers, gels, and
biological tissue. Also new are
indentation methods which measure
the creep response (strain-rate
sensitivity) of metals, even as
thin films.
Recognizing that our customers use
our instruments to push the envelope
of materials testing, we make these
same method-development tools
available to our customers through
NanoSuite Explorer and on-line
training. With Explorer, the G200
and the T150 become all-purpose
tools, able to apply force, measure
displacement, and interpret data
according the user’s unique
specifications.
New Agilent Express Test
NanoSuite 6.2 also enables a totally
novel, ultrafast way to conduct
high-precision nanomechanical tests.
Designed for exclusive use with
NanoSuite 6.2 also provides a variety
of 2D and 3D graphs which can be
sent to Microsoft Excel as-is.
As in the package’s previous iteration,
an intuitive interface allows users to
set up and run experiments quickly
— changing calculation parameters
as often as desired — with just a
few clicks. NanoSuite 6.2 offers
support of small force/displacement
measurements, from MEMS testing to
tensile experiments, surface topology,
polymers, and more. Versatile imaging
capabilities, survey scanning, and
streamlined test method development
help researchers get from testing to
results in record time.
Powerful New
NanoSuite Methods
Testing procedure and analysis are
defined by means of test methods
which are relatively independent
of the NanoSuite application. This
application/method software
architecture provides unparalleled
access to standard, advanced, and
even novel testing. For standard
nanoindentation testing with the
G200/G300, NanoSuite 6.2 has a
method for testing in compliance with
ISO 14577, and the determination
of indenter area function has been
greatly simplified, involving just a few
mouse clicks. For standard tensile
the Nano Indenter G200, the new
Express Test option performs one
complete indentation every second,
meaning that 100 indentations can
be performed at 100 different sites
in 100 seconds! Highly versatile,
easy-to-use Express Test methods
are ideal for applications involving
metals, glasses, ceramics, structural
polymers, thin films, and low-κ
materials. There is now a new
Express Test method for thin films
that incorporates the thin-film model
for rapid measurement of substrate-
independent Young’s modulus.
In order to achieve all of these
revolutionary measurements, the
G200 must be configured with a
DCM II indentation head, Agilent’s
NanoVision stage option, and the
new Express Test option.
New Batch Testing
Capabilities
NanoSuite 6.2 lets researchers
quickly create new batches of tests
for multiple samples. In addition to
easily adding, editing, reviewing,
or deleting samples, researchers
can select a previously run batch of
tests as a template for the current
run. Utilizing this NanoSuite 6.2
technique, a standard batch of tests
comprising 25 or more samples can
be set up in 5 minutes or less.
Figure 1. New test method for Express Test gives the substrate-
independent Young’s modulus of a 1000nm low-κfilm on silicon by
means of 98 indents performed in just 7 minutes (green circles).
Figure 2. New test method measures the strain-rate sensitivity
of SAC 105 solder to be m= 0.184±0.013, obtained as the slope of
the logarithm of hardness vs. the logarithm of strain rate.

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Figure 4. Original 500 x 500 µm survey scan. Carbon fibers are standing on end in the
lower part of the image and in the upper left they are laying flat.
Figure 5. Left: 500 x 500 µm scan of carbon fibers over 18 µm of height deviation. Right
top: 40 µm scan of feature shown in 3D. Bottom right: 40 µm scan of carbon fiber ends
after polynomial leveling.
Figure 3. New test method gives complex modulus of highly plasticized PVC as a function
of frequency (diamonds). Values compare well with dynamic mechanical analysis under
similar conditions (solid line).
NanoSuite 6.2 also supports new
batch capabilities for Express Test!
This new mode lets G200 users,
in one batch definition, prescribe
multiple Express Test arrays on
multiple samples to run unattended.
With the previous version of
NanoSuite, users had to utilize
Express Test in individual mode
and could only prescribe one array
at a time.
New 2D and 3D Graph Plotting
and Exporting
Two-dimensional graphs can
be plotted on the screen in
NanoSuite 6.2 and then exported
directly to Microsoft Excel: axis
titles, scales, and all. This thoughtful
functionality gives users the ability
to export the graph they are viewing
straight to Excel exactly as it appears
on the monitor.
Versatile Imaging and
Survey Scanning
NanoSuite 6.2 provides a wide array
of imaging capabilities, including
profile cross-sectional imaging,
real-time adjustment of scanning
parameters, polynomial distortion or
leveling correction, plane-fit leveling,
and a broad color palette.

Nano Mechanical Systems from
Agilent Technologies
Agilent Technologies, the premier
measurement company, offers high-
precision, modular nano-measurement
solutions for research, industry, and
education. Exceptional worldwide support
is provided by experienced application
scientists and technical service personnel.
Agilent’s leading-edge R&D laboratories
ensure the continued, timely introduction
and optimization of innovative, easy-to-use
nanomechanical system technologies.
www.agilent.com/find/nanoindenter
Americas
Canada [phone]
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United States [phone]
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Product specifications and descriptions in this
document subject to change without notice.
© Agilent Technologies, Inc. 2013
Printed in USA, March 19, 2013
5990-4210EN Rev.D
Nanoindentation instruments from Agilent Technologies conform
to the ISO 14577 standard, delivering confidence in test accuracy
and repeatability. These state-of-the-art solutions ensure reliable,
high-precision measurement of nanomechanical properties for
research and industry.
with ISO 14577 and making substrate-
independent measurements on thin
film materials. Agilent is constantly
developing and releasing new
methods for users.
The Explorer version of NanoSuite 6.2
allows users to write their own
NanoSuite methods using exactly
the same software tools employed
by Agilent applications engineers. In
simulation mode, users can write test
methods and process data analysis
off-line. No other commercially
available package offers this degree
of flexibility and control.
For scanning of areas up to
500µm x 500 µm, NanoSuite 6.2 offers
a survey scanning option. Flatness of
travel is 0.1% per 100µm. This option
is ideal for scratch and wear testing
on large samples. It is also very
useful for working with large samples
that have irregular shapes, large
samples composed of heterogeneous
materials, and various metals,
ceramics, and hard-coated materials.
Data Acquisition,
Recording, and Control
The fundamental data acquisition
rate for all Agilent Nano Indenters
is 12.5 kHz. Acquired data is
accumulated and averaged in an
electronic buffer and recorded at
a rate of up to 500Hz. Even at the
system’s highest recording rate,
NanoSuite 6.2 provides the power of
real-time experimental control based
on any recorded or calculated data
channel. This allows functionality
such as plotting real-time properties,
or more complex capabilities, such as
responding intelligently when a test
sample fails.
Professional and
Explorer Versions
The Professional version of
NanoSuite 6.2 gives users access
to test methods written by Agilent
applications engineers, including the
methods for testing in compliance
Figure 6. T150 UTM engineering
stress-strain curves for nylon-PET
bicomponent IS fibers, with 85% nylon
and 15% PET. The molecular weight of
PET in NP5 fibers is higher than that
in NP3 fibers. The dashed lines at the
initial part of the curve indicate linear
elastic deformation. Regime A is prior to
formation of any neck in the fiber, whereas
regime B indicate strain hardening in the
necked region.