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doi:10.1016/0040-6090(89)90522-1 
Copyright © 1989 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Atomic force microscopy for the study of tribology and adhesion
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E. Meyer, H. Heinzelmann, P. Grütter, Th. Jung, H. -R. Hidber, H. Rudin and H. -J. Güntherodt
Received 9 March 1989.
Abstract
The recently developed atomic force microscope (AFM)1 allows the study of the topography of insulating surfaces on an atomic scale. In this technique a tiny force sensor is raster-scanned across the surface and probes the interaction force between sample and sensor tip. In contrast to its predecessor, the profilometer, the vertical movement of the probe is monitored with sub-angstrom resolution.
With the AFM, it is possible to study the friction between sample and probing tip as a function of contact force2. Atomic-scale frictional effects are also present in the normal AFM imaging mode. Examples of images of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), a model substance for AFM, will be discussed. In addition to the observation of friction, a static non-imaging mode is described which gives information on adhesion forces between sample and tip and elastic properties of the sample surface.
On a larger scale, the topography determined by AFM is of great utility in understanding the tribological properties of the sample. Here we present investigations on amorphous carbon layers similar to the materials used as tribological coatings. Variations in the surface topography of different samples might be related to a different behaviour in friction and wear.
