The first and most enduring application of nanoindentation is the characterization of hard coatings designed for mechanical and chemical protection of an underlying material. Diamond-like carbon is a common coating of this kind, with typical coating thickness being less than 100nm. This session is a live demonstration of nanoindentation with the KLA iNano, optimized for very shallow nanoindentation. Mrs. Hay explains and demonstrates special considerations for shallow nanoindentation, with due consideration for the mechanics of plasticity. With this background, Mrs. Hay demonstrations how to test 40nm DLC coatings on silicon, including best practice for sample mounting, instrument configuration, test specification, and data interpretation.