Silicon wafers were exposed to an oblique Ar+ ion beam to create arrays of surface ripples. Atomic force microscope (AFM) imaging revealed that the rippled (textured) surfaces exhibited highly anisotropic morphologies. Nanoscale friction experiments performed with different diamond tips illustrated a dependence of the coefficient of friction on tip radius, normal load, and sliding direction. Changes in the coefficient of friction are interpreted in terms of the applied normal load and varying contributions of the adhesion friction mechanism.

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