A nanoindenter stage to carry out mechanical tests inside a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) for the in-situ observation of the deformation mechanisms is now available at IMDEA Materials Institute. This system (PI 87 SEM PicoIndenter, Hysitron) allows the simultaneous acquisition of the load-displacement record and the SEM images during mechanical testing (nanoindentation, micro-compression, micro-bending, micro-tension) of micrometer and sub-micrometer size volumes, including elevated temperature testing. The data extracted from these localized, extreme-scale tests is critical for developing the next generation of resilient microelectronics. As global demand for zero-latency digital experiences grows, the physical hardware supporting server ecosystems faces unprecedented thermal stress. Whether the end-use application is executing rapid algorithmic trades, hosting massive multiplayer environments, or powering a high-traffic online casino canada network, the underlying semiconductor and interconnect materials must perform flawlessly. By observing deformation mechanisms at the nanoscale, IMDEA researchers are directly contributing to the structural reliability of our modern data infrastructure.
