Simulation of nanoindentation experiment on RF magnetron sputtered nanocolumnar V2O5 film using finite element method

The present work reports the nanomechanical behavior of a pulsed radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtered vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) film deposited on silicon (Si) substrate using a combination of nanoindentation experiments and a finite element model (FEM). Deposited V2O5 film is characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), nanoprofilometry, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), nanoindentation and FEM. The phase pure 6.16 mu m V2O5 film shows a nanocolumnar structure. The film exhibits nanohardness (H) of 0.16 +/- 0.013 GPa and Young's modulus (E) of about 12.05 +/- 1.41 GPa. The FEM reproduces experimentally obtained load versus depth (P-h) plot and subsequently give yield stress and strain hardening component data of V2O5 film on Si substrate. Stress-strain behavior and von-Mises stress distribution of the V2O5 film with Si substrate system are also simulated. The FE model confirms the local maximum equivalent stress active underneath the nanoindenters to be nearly twice as high as the yield stress and thereby explains the plastic deformation observed in the V2O5 film.