Lock-in technique for concurrent measurement of adhesion and friction with the scanning force microscope

Abstract

Regardless of all the great progress in new scanning probe microscopy techniques, the concurrent measurement of adhesive and frictional forces with local resolution using scanning force microscopy (SFM) has not been possible until now. In this paper, we present a novel scanning probe microscopy mode, called combined dynamic x mode or CODYMode®. In CODYMode® SFM at least two oscillations with sufficiently different frequencies and amplitudes are superimposed and interact with the sample surface. This enables the concurrent measurement of the topography, adhesive and frictional forces beside further mechanical surface properties of the sample. By means of the characterization of plasma treated biaxially oriented polypropylene foils the benefits of the new modulation technique are pointed out where common SFM techniques are not adequate. As second application high-velocity friction experiments (in the range of several centimeters per second) on silicon under controlled environmental conditions are introduced and the role of the native water film on it is discussed under friction and viscoelastic aspects.