SEM Picomechanical Indenter (NU-Pico)

The tender is for supply of Nanoindenter or picoindenter to fit inside our Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM model: Tescan Mira 3 with GM chamber). This will allow users to map surface mechanical and tribological properties of materials and correlate them to structural, morphological and chemical properties.

The Northumbria University (NU) Scanning Electron Microscope Picomechanical Indenter (NU-Pico) will provide a state-of-the-art regional facility for high-speed simultaneous characterisation of the nanomechanical, morphological and chemical properties of thin film coatings, surfaces and nanomaterials. NU-Pico will be the first SEM nanoindenter in the northeast of England and will support unprecedented recent growth in biomaterials, renewable energy materials, civil engineering materials and smart materials and surfaces research at NU and provide a game-changing nanomechanical facility for the region and beyond.

NU-Pico must enable a drastic expansion on our current nano-tribomechanical testing capability and unlock a range of complimentary material characterisation techniques, critical for rapid prototyping of novel materials for cutting edge applications. The modular and user-friendly nature of NU-Pico, together with its enhanced capability, must make it useful for a much larger user base, including early career researchers, PhD students, research technical professionals and industry users, from wider interdisciplinary research areas.