Table 1.

Comparison between instrumented nanoindentation (INI) and atomic force microscopy (AFM).^a

characteristic	INI	AFM
vertical spring constant	100 N/m	from <0.01 N/m to over 500 N/m
lateral spring constant	105 N/m	10–1000 N/mb
lowest fundamental resonance	20–500 kHz	several thousand kHz
displacement sensitivity	1 nm	0.05 nm or better
load sensitivity	10 nN	<0.05 nNc
dynamic range of force	108	103
nm-scale imaging	nonexistent to fair	excellent
bandwidth	0.001–100 Hz	1 Hz – several kHz
temporal stabilityd	good	fair

^aParameters given here are typical and may vary from instrument to instrument, ^bTypically 2 orders of magnitude greater than flexural (normal) spring constant, ^cDepends on cantilever used in measurement. ^dSensitive to instrumental design: environmental control can improve this.