Berkovich tip
Encyclopedia
Indentation hardness
Indentation hardness tests are used to determine the hardness of a material to deformation. Several such tests exist, wherein the examined material is indented until an impression is formed; these tests can be performed on a macroscopic or microscopic scale....
of a material. It is a three sided pyramid which is geometrically self similar. It has a very flat profile, with a total included angle of 142.3 degrees and a half angle of 65.35 degrees. The Berkovich tip has the same projected area to depth ratio as a Vickers indenter
Vickers hardness test
The Vickers hardness test was developed in 1924 by Smith and Sandland at Vickers Ltd as an alternative to the Brinell method to measure the hardness of materials. The Vickers test is often easier to use than other hardness tests since the required calculations are independent of the size of the...
. The indenter was invented by Russian scientist E.S. Berkovich in the USSR circa 1950.
As it is three sided, it is easier to grind these tips to a sharp point and so is more readily employed for nanoindentation
Nanoindentation
Nanoindentation is a variety of indentation hardness tests applied to small volumes. Indentation is perhaps the most commonly applied means of testing the mechanical properties of materials...
type tests. It is typically used to measure bulk materials and films greater than 100 nanometre (1E-07 m) thick.