Indentation on piezoelectric films in smooth contact with an elastic substrate

Indentation technique plays an important role in characterizing mechanical properties of advanced materials, especially for those used in applications of MEMS and NEMS. This paper considers the frictionless indentation on piezoelectric films in smooth contact with an elastic substrate. By using Hankel transform, the basic solutions of the piezoelectric film and the elastic half-space can be obtained. Introducing the boundary conditions for singularity caused by the point force, and the interfacial conditions between the film and the substrate, the Green´s function solution can be obtained by solving a set of simultaneous linear algebraic equation. By using the theorem of superposition and the contact boundary conditions, we obtain the dual integral equations, which can be transformed to the Fredholm integral equation and solved numerically. Finally, numerical examples and conclusions are given.