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A New AFM Nanotribology Method Using a T-Shape Cantilever with an Off-Axis Tip for Friction Coefficient Measurement with Minimized Abbé Error

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Abstract

A new AFM (atomic force microscopy) nanotribology method using a T-shape cantilever with an off-axis tip (Nat Nanotechnol 2:507–514, 2007) has been developed for measuring friction coefficient at nanometer scale. In this method, signals due to both bending and twisting of the T-shape AFM cantilever are detected simultaneously. For a T-shape AFM cantilever, the bending is caused by the normal load and the twisting is caused by both the normal and the lateral loads. The twisting generated by the normal load is calibrated in advance. Consequently, the twisting only due to the lateral load can be decoupled from the total lateral voltage signal. And the friction coefficient can be finally determined based on a conversion relationship between the normal and lateral voltage signals of the AFM photodetector. A practical procedure for minimizing Abbé error in friction coefficient measurement has also been introduced. The proposed new method is simple and accurate, and requires the least operation for friction coefficient measurement at nanometer scale.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from Ontario Centers of Excellence (OCE) and LANXESS Inc. J. Yang is also grateful for the support from Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Y. Liu would appreciate the fellowship support from Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6A 5B9, Canada

    Yu Liu, Kar Man Leung & Jun Yang

  2. Surface Science Western, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6G 0J3, Canada

    Heng-yong Nie & Woon Ming Lau

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  1. Yu Liu
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  2. Kar Man Leung
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  3. Heng-yong Nie
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  5. Jun Yang
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Correspondence to Jun Yang.

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Liu, Y., Leung, K.M., Nie, Hy. et al. A New AFM Nanotribology Method Using a T-Shape Cantilever with an Off-Axis Tip for Friction Coefficient Measurement with Minimized Abbé Error. Tribol Lett 41, 313–318 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-010-9699-9

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