Mechanical Characterization of Ruthenocuprates by Nanoindentation Technique

The nanomechanical properties of RuSr (2) RECu O-2(8) (RE = Eu, Gd and Ho) prepared by ammonium nitrate melt technique (ANMT) were investigated using nanoindentation technique. The indentation load-displacement curves of the samples were obtained at different peak loads ranging from 10 to 400 mN. Reduced elastic modulus and hardness of the superconductors calculated from loading-unloading curves were peak load dependent, i.e., indentation size effect (ISE). We observed that Ho substitution led to a substantial improvement in mechanical properties of the RuSr2RECu2O8, which was attributed to the strong grain connectivity and dense and less porous structure of RE = Ho sample.