In-situ nanoindentation specimen holder for a high-voltage transmission electron microscope

This report describes the design, construction, and testing of a nanoindentation specimen holder used for dynamic observation of subsurface microstructure evolution under an indenter tip, while viewing in cross-section in a high-voltage transmission electron microscope (TEM). It also discusses the initial experimental results from in-situ indentation of Si samples in the TEM to demonstrate the capability of this new nanoindentation specimen holder, which uses three-axis position control of a diamond indenter in combination with micromachined specimens. Additionally, the sample design techniques developed for these procedures may eliminate the need for TEM specimen preparation in future ex-situ nanoindentation experiments and for sample preparation for characterizing these experiments in the electron microscope