The present study belongs to the trend toward the development of innovative materials for multifunctional applications (in micro/nanotechnology, metallurgy, ...). Indeed, the "Materials" specifications of these developments require more and more the combination of various properties (mechanical, electrical, dielectric, ...) sometimes antinomic, all at submicronic scales. The characterization of these complex systems therefore requires techniques adapted to these constraints. The work carried out is based on the development, improvement and application of an innovative multifunctional characterization technique: the nanoindentation coupled to electrical measurements and integrated in a SEM. The device used in this study was developed at SIMaP laboratory from a commercial nanoindenter which has been functionalized to perform simultaneously electrical and mechanical measurements. Moreover, the present device can be integrated into a SEM to ensure the positioning of the indenter with a resolution of the order of a hundred nanometers, as well as to visualize physical events in real time. This innovative technique has been successfully applied to investigate local electrical and mechanical properties of different systems with various industrial interests. In the present contribution, a case study of the application of this technique to a metallic alloy is presented.  

The studied material is a multiphase metallic alloy composed of silver, copper and palladium (AgPdCu). Thanks to the electrical measurements associated with nanoindentation tests, a complete methodology (partly based on the current-voltage characteristics) has been developed to continuously monitor the evolution of the contact area during penetration of the tip into the material. In addition, SEM allowed to position the indenter at the center of the micrometric phases, thus allowing maximal sensitivity to the individual phase behaviours and also avoiding time-consuming statistical experiments. Using this methodology, the elastic modulus and hardness of the individual phases were successfully determined.