  Nanoindentation is an effective way of finding mechanical properties at
nanoscale. They are especially useful for thin films where elimination of the
substrate effect is required. The mechanism is based upon depth sensing
indentation based on Oliver and Pharr modeling. Nanoindentation was used to
evaluate the nanomechanical and fractographic properties of hard coatings
deposited by magnetron sputtering. Radial and lateral cracks accompanied by
delamination of the coatings were observed during the indentation tests. A
novel phenomenon of stress induced crystallization was observed in case of the
CNx films which resulted in crack deflection. Indentations at micro scale using
Vickers Indenter were also done and the cracking phenomena were analyzed.
