Small-scale materials and nanostructures are attracting considerable worldwide research interest due to their potential applications. Even though small-scale materials are paramount for their respective applications, an understanding of the mechanical properties of such small volumes of materials is far from clear due to lack of an appropriate test technique that is quantitative at such small scales.

To accommodate this need for testing mechanical properties of materials at nanoscale, Hysitron has developed the Push-to-Pull (PTP) device, an in-situ tensile apparatus designed to work seamlessly with Hysitron's commercially available PI Series PicoIndenter for TEM and SEM.

The Push-to-Pull apparatus not only enables quantitative tensile load-displacement data simultaneously with real time images of the microstructure behavior, it also simplifies the sample preparation procedure, and serves as an energy buffer, strain sensor, and force calibration.

 
Push-to-Pull Features:

• Enables quantitative tensile load-displacement data simultaneous with real time images of the microstructure behavior
• Portability of device allows for easy transfer between FIB and SEM/TEM
• PTP device inserts in commercially available PI Series PicoIndenter for in-situ tensile testing
• PTP device is a consumable, though multi-use MEMS-fabricated apparatus
• Identical PTP device can be used with both SEM and TEM PicoIndenter instruments
• Three different stiffness values (15, 150, and 450 N/m) available for use with a variety of materials and sizes