**2.15 FEM of nano: indentation to characterize thin film coatings**

Thin film coatings [17] are used in tribological, corrosion resistance of mechanical components, tooling, biomedical implants, electronics, microsystem packaging, cutting tool coatings and magnetic devices. The film coatings are explicitly used for reducing wear and tear. It is a current need to investigate the thin film coatings for critical loads that lead to ultimate fracture. Since nanoindentation is a nondestructive one, it is preferred and imperatively it could be simulated by finite element method (FEM). Using FEM, the hardness, elastic modulus, endurance loads, optimal thickness, optimal critical load, stress distribution and contact pressure between substrate and layer could be found.
