A unified model for determining hardness and Young’s modulus of thin films based on a revised Chicot–Lesage (1995) approach
Abstract
A unified analytical model is proposed for the simultaneous determination of hardness and Young's modulus of thin films from indentation measurements. The approach is based on the Chicot-Lesage (1995) composite hardness model, in which the original assumptions are revisited to improve the mechanical description of film-substrate systems. In particular, the evolution of the film contribution with indentation depth is reformulated, allowing a consistent extraction of both hardness and elastic modulus using a single framework. The revised model accounts for substrate influence without requiring multiple fitting procedures or independent elastic measurements. Validation is carried out on various representative thin film systems, showing good agreement with experimental indentation data and reference values. The proposed methodology provides a simplified and physically consistent tool for mechanical characterization of thin films, well suited for routine analysis.
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BibTeX
@article{lakhlioui2026unified,
title = {{A unified model for determining hardness and Young’s modulus of thin films based on a revised Chicot–Lesage (1995) approach}},
author = {Z. Lakhlioui and D. Chicot and F. Roudet and A. Mejias and K. Ziouche},
journal = {Materials Today Communications},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1016/j.mtcomm.2026.116224},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05805441v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - A unified model for determining hardness and Young’s modulus of thin films based on a revised Chicot–Lesage (1995) approach
AU - Z. Lakhlioui
AU - D. Chicot
AU - F. Roudet
AU - A. Mejias
AU - K. Ziouche
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/23
JO - Materials Today Communications
DO - 10.1016/j.mtcomm.2026.116224
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05805441v1
AB - A unified analytical model is proposed for the simultaneous determination of hardness and Young's modulus of thin films from indentation measurements. The approach is based on the Chicot-Lesage (1995) composite hardness model, in which the original assumptions are revisited to improve the mechanical description of film-substrate systems. In particular, the evolution of the film contribution with indentation depth is reformulated, allowing a consistent extraction of both hardness and elastic modulus using a single framework. The revised model accounts for substrate influence without requiring multiple fitting procedures or independent elastic measurements. Validation is carried out on various representative thin film systems, showing good agreement with experimental indentation data and reference values. The proposed methodology provides a simplified and physically consistent tool for mechanical characterization of thin films, well suited for routine analysis.
SN - 2352-4928
ER -