In a Lateral Force Microscope (LFM), appropriate spring constants of the tip assembly are essential for obtaining proper normal loads for wear or scratch tests and good lateral force signals. We developed a new tip assembly design for which the lateral and normal springs can be changed independently. It was installed on a LFM where two optical heads are used to detect the lateral and normal deflections of the tip assembly for simultaneous measurements of the surface topography and friction force. Reliable calibration procedures for the LFM are presented. The LFM was used to measure the lateral forces in wear tests under various normal forces for thin film magnetic disks with and without a carbon overcoat. The friction coefficient is constant in the load range where there is no wear and increases with normal load after the tip starts to damage the surface. The carbon-coated disk has a lower friction coefficient and can support larger normal loads without wear.

Issue Section:
Research Papers
Topics:
Manufacturing, Microscopy, Thin films, Stress, Friction, Wear, Carbon, Disks, Calibration, Damage, Deflection, Design, Elastic constants, Signals, Springs, Wear testing, Microscopes
1.
Bhushan, B., and Ruan, J.-A., 1994, “Atomic-Scale Friction Measurements Using Friction Force Microscopy: Part II-Application to Magnetic Media,” ASME JOURNAL OF TRIBOLOGY, to appear.
2.
Binnig
G.
,
Quate
C. F.
, and
Gerber
Ch.
1986
, “
Atomic Force Microscope
,”
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,
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,
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,
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,
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, and
Wortge
M.
,
1993
, “
The Role of Topography and Friction for the Image Contrast in Lateral Force Microscopy
,”
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4.
Kaneko
R.
,
Nonaka
N.
, and
Yasuda
K.
,
1988
, “
Atomic Force Microscope for Microtribology
,”
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, Vol. A.,
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2
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5.
Kaneko
R.
,
Miyamoto
T.
, and
Hamada
E.
,
1991
, “
Development of a Controlled Friction Force Microscope and Imaging of Recording Disk Surfaces
,”
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, Vol.
1
, pp.
267
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.
6.
Kohno
T.
,
Ozawa
N.
,
Miyamoto
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, and
Musha
T.
,
1988
, “
High Precision Optical Surface Sensor
,”
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, Vol.
27
, no.
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, pp.
103
–
108
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7.
Lu, C.-J., Jiang, Z., Bogy, D. and Miyamoto, T., 1994, “Simultaneous Measurement of Surface Topography and Friction Force by a Single-Head Lateral Force Microscope,” ASME JOURNAL OF TRIBOLOGY, to appear.
8.
Marti, O., Colchero, J. and Mlynek, J., 1993, “Friction and Forces on an Atomic Scale,” Nanosources and Manipulation of Atoms under High Fields and Temperature: Application, Vu Thien Binh, N. Garcia and K., Dransfeld, eds., Kluwer Academic Publishers, London, UK.
9.
Mate
C. M.
,
McClelland
G. M.
,
Erlandsson
R.
, and
Chiang
S.
,
1987
, “
Atomical-Scale Friction of a Tungsten Tip on a Graphite Surface
,”
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1942
–
1945
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10.
Mate
C. M.
,
1992
, “
Atomic-Force-Microscope Study of Polymer Lubricants on Silicon Surfaces
,”
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68
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22
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3323
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3326
.
11.
Meyer
G.
, and
Amer
N.
,
1990
, “
Simultaneous Measurement of Lateral and Normal Forces with an Optical-Beam-Deflection Atomic Force Microscope
,”
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2089
–
2091
.
12.
Miyamoto
T.
,
Miyake
S.
, and
Kaneko
R.
,
1993
, “
Wear Resistance of C+-implanted Silicon Investigated by Scanning Probe Microcopy
,”
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, Apr. 13 Vol.
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, pp.
733
–
738
.
13.
Neubauer
G.
,
Cohen
S.
,
McClelland
G.
,
Home
D.
, and
Mate
C.
,
1990
, “
Force Microscopy with a Bidirectional Capacitance Sensor
,”
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, Vol.
61
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9
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2296
–
2308
.
14.
Overney, R., and Meyer, E., 1993, “Tribological Investigations Using Friction Force Microscopy,” MRS Bulletin, May, pp. 26–34.
15.
Ruan, J.-A., and Bhushan, B., 1994, “Atomic-Scale Friction Measurements Using Friction Force Microscopy: Part I—General Principles and New Measurement Techniques,” ASME JOURNAL OF TRIBOLOGY, to appear.
16.
Yanagisawa
M.
, and
Motomura
Y.
,
1987
, “
An Ultramicro Indentation Hardness Tester and Its Application to Thin Films
,”
Lubrication Engineering
, Vol.
43
, 1, pp.
52
–
56
.
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