Micro/Nanotribology Studies Using Scanning Probe Microscopy

Abstract

The mechanisms and dynamics of the interactions of two contacting solids during relative motion, ranging from atomic to microscale, need to be understood in order to develop fundamental understanding of adhesion, friction, wear, indentation, and lubrication processes. At most solid-solid interfaces of technological relevance, contact occurs at many asperities. Consequently the importance of investigating single asperity contacts in studies of the fundamental micro/nanomechanical and micro/nanotribological properties of surfaces and interfaces has long been recognized. The recent emergence and proliferation ofproximal probes, in particular scanning probe microscopies (the scanning tunneling microscope and the atomic force microscope), and the surface force apparatus, and of computational techniques for simulating tip-surface interactions and interfacial properties, has allowed systematic investigations of interfacial problems with high resolution as well as ways and means for modifying and manipulating nanoscale structures. These advances have led to the appearance of the new field of micro/nanotribology, which pertains to experimental and theoretical investigations of interfacial processes on scales ranging from the atomic and molecular to the microscale, occurring during adhesion, friction, scratching, wear, indentation, and thin-film lubrication at sliding surfaces [1–12].