Optimizing microhardness testing of metallic glasses

Abstract There are common protocols and standards for measuring the microhardness of materials. However, measuring this property requires special attention when the materials are tens of microns thick. In this paper, we present the results of measuring the Vickers microhardness of three samples of metallic glasses of significantly different thicknesses. We varied the force and the loading time. In addition, we investigated the influence of mechanical surface treatment on microhardness results. By analyzing the results, we determined the optimal conditions for measuring the microhardness of samples of this geometry.