Nanomechanical Characterisation Laboratory

The Manchester Nanocharacterisation Laboratory is a leading facility for the investigation of fundamental mechanical material properties on the nano, micro and meso scale. Established in 2015 the laboratory is home to a number of state-of-the-art platform and insitu nanoindenters. The NCL has users from across the University of Manchester, the UK and internationally.

Nanoindentation is a powerful technique for investigating the surface mechanical properties of almost any material. Primarily used for gathering stiffness and hardness data, the technique can also be use for determining fracture toughness, yield stress, creep, viscoelastic properties and surface tribology.
The Manchester NCL is capable of testing a wide range of materials for an ever-increasing range of applications and disciplines. These include, thin films, ceramics, biomaterials and hydrogels, polymers, metals, organic crystals and 2D materials.

In 2022 the Manchester NCL moved to its new home in Engineering Building A, part of the MECD project. It is located in a bespoke laboratory with active temperature/humidity control and ultra-low vibration environment, to ensure optimal testing conditions to reduce background artefacts to a minimum during data capture.

The platform systems feature a full complement of environmental options. High temperature testing up to 1000⁰C. Cryo testing down to -100⁰C. Humidity cell capable of 35%-85% RH. Electrochemical cell for corrosion studies.
The insitu systems allow for integration with electron microscopy. The Pi85 sits within a Zeiss Sigma SEM and is used for testing micro pillars and cantilevers. The Pi95 is designed to work with FEI TEM systems.