probes used for atomic force microscope exhibit large adhesion and friction resulting in artifacts of scanned image. In order to reduce adhesion and friction so as to reduce tip related artifacts, liquid lubricant (Z-TETRAOL) and fluorocarbon polymer (Fluorinert) were applied on the probe. A comprehensive investigation of adhesion, friction, and wear of the uncoated/coated tips in both ambient air and various humidity levels as well as the influence of the coatings on the image resolution was performed. Experiments show that the coatings reduce the adhesion and friction of the tip, improve the initial image resolution, and exhibit less deterioration as compared to that of uncoated tip after scanning. The image degradation of an uncoated probe is also compared with that of an uncoated silicon probe. A probe cantilever deflection model was proposed to correlate the influence of the adhesion and friction with the image distortion.
Skip Nav Destination
e-mail: bhushan.2@osu.edu
Article navigation
October 2006
Research Papers
Surface Modification of AFM Probes for Adhesion/Friction Reduction and Imaging Improvement
Zhenhua Tao,
Zhenhua Tao
Nanotribology Laboratory for Information Storage and MEMS/NEMS,
The Ohio State University
, 650 Ackerman Road, Suite 255, Columbus, OH 43202
Search for other works by this author on:
Bharat Bhushan
Bharat Bhushan
Fellow ASME
Nanotribology Laboratory for Information Storage and MEMS/NEMS,
e-mail: bhushan.2@osu.edu
The Ohio State University
, 650 Ackerman Road, Suite 255, Columbus, OH 43202
Search for other works by this author on:
Zhenhua Tao
Nanotribology Laboratory for Information Storage and MEMS/NEMS,
The Ohio State University
, 650 Ackerman Road, Suite 255, Columbus, OH 43202
Bharat Bhushan
Fellow ASME
Nanotribology Laboratory for Information Storage and MEMS/NEMS,
The Ohio State University
, 650 Ackerman Road, Suite 255, Columbus, OH 43202e-mail: bhushan.2@osu.edu
J. Tribol. Oct 2006, 128(4): 865-875 (11 pages)
Published Online: June 2, 2006
Article history
Received:
January 3, 2006
Revised:
June 2, 2006
Citation
Tao, Z., and Bhushan, B. (June 2, 2006). "Surface Modification of AFM Probes for Adhesion/Friction Reduction and Imaging Improvement." ASME. J. Tribol. October 2006; 128(4): 865–875. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2345411
Download citation file:
Get Email Alerts
Static Characteristics of Hybrid Water-Lubricated Herringbone Groove Journal Bearing
J. Tribol (April 2025)
Related Articles
Tribological Behavior of Tool Steel Under Press Hardening Conditions Using Simulative Tests
J. Tribol (January,2018)
Nanotribological Characterization and Lubricant Degradation Studies of Metal-Film Magnetic Tapes Using Novel Lubricants
J. Tribol (July,2007)
Related Proceedings Papers
Related Chapters
Surface Analysis and Tools
Tribology of Mechanical Systems: A Guide to Present and Future Technologies
Contact Laws
Contact in Structural Mechanics: A Weighted Residual Approach
Materials
Design and Application of the Worm Gear