Microhardness is the hardness of a material as determined by forcing an indenter such as a Vickers or Knoop indenter into the surface of the material under 15 to 1000 gf load; usually, the indentations are so small that they must be measured with a microscope.

How is Vickers microhardness test measured?

The Vickers hardness test uses a Vickers indenter (below) pressed into a surface to a specified force. The force is usually held for 10 seconds. After the indentation is finished, the resulting indent is analyzed optically to measure the lengths of the diagonals to determine the size of the impression.

How can hardness be measured?

A hardness test is typically performed by pressing a specifically dimensioned and loaded object (indenter) into the surface of the material you are testing. The hardness is determined by measuring the depth of indenter penetration or by measuring the size of the impression left by an indenter.