A Berkovich tip is a type of

nanoindenter A nanoindenter is the main component for indentation hardness tests used in nanoindentation. Since the mid-1970s nanoindentation has become the primary method for measuring and testing very small volumes of mechanical properties. Nanoindentation, ...

tip used for testing the

indentation hardness Indentation hardness tests are used in mechanical engineering to determine the hardness of a material to deformation. Several such tests exist, wherein the examined material is indented until an impression is formed; these tests can be performed on ...

of a material. It is a three-sided pyramid which is geometrically self-similar. The popular Berkovich now has a very flat profile, with a total included angle of 142.3 degrees and a half angle of 65.27 degrees, measured from the axis to one of the pyramid flats. This Berkovich tip has the same projected area-to-depth ratio as a Vickers indenter. The original tip shape was invented by Russian scientist E.S. Berkovich in the USSR c. 1950, which has a half angle of 65.03 degrees.M.M. Khrushchov & E.S. Berkovich, "Methods of Determining the Hardness of Very Hard Materials: The Hardness of Diamond," ''Zavodskaya Laboratoria'', 1950 (2), p 193 -196 (in Russian). Translated into English by W.G.C and published in ''Industrial Diamond Review'', Vol. 11, Feb 1951, p 42-49 (in English). As it is three sided, it is easier to grind these tips to a sharp point and so is more readily employed for

nanoindentation Nanoindentation, also called instrumented indentation testing, is a variety of indentation hardness tests applied to small volumes. Indentation is perhaps the most commonly applied means of testing the mechanical properties of materials. The nanoi ...

tests. It is typically used to measure bulk materials and films greater than thick.

References

Hardness tests Soviet inventions Russian inventions {{Tool-stub