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Full-Text Articles in Mechanical Engineering

Static Friction And Surface Roughness Studies Of Surface Micromachined Electrostatic Micromotors Using An Atomic Force/Friction Force Microscope, Sriram Sundararajan, Bharat Bhushan Jan 2001

Static Friction And Surface Roughness Studies Of Surface Micromachined Electrostatic Micromotors Using An Atomic Force/Friction Force Microscope, Sriram Sundararajan, Bharat Bhushan

Sriram Sundararajan

A technique to measure the static friction forces (stiction) encountered in surface micromachined micromotors using a commercial atomic force microscope (AFM)/friction force microscope has been developed and is described. An AFM tip is pushed against a rotor arm of the micromotor so as to generate lateral deflection (torsion) of the tip, which is measured by the AFM. The maximum value of the lateral deflection obtained prior to rotor movement (rotation) is a measure of the static friction force of the micromotors. This technique was employed to study the effect of humidity and rest time on the static friction force of …


Development Of A Continuous Microscratch Technique In An Atomic Force Microscope And Its Application To Study Scratch Resistance Of Ultrathin Hard Amorphous Carbon Coatings, Sriram Sundararajan, Bharat Bhushan Jan 2001

Development Of A Continuous Microscratch Technique In An Atomic Force Microscope And Its Application To Study Scratch Resistance Of Ultrathin Hard Amorphous Carbon Coatings, Sriram Sundararajan, Bharat Bhushan

Sriram Sundararajan

A method to measure friction during scratching at linearly increasing loads in a commercial atomic force/friction force microscope (AFM/FFM) has been developed. The normal load was increased in small increments over the required range for the scratch using a software module while the friction signal was measured via a breakout box and data acquisition computer. Topography images of the scratch were obtained in situ with the AFM in tapping mode with minimal loss of damage event information. This technique was employed to study the scratch resistance of hard amorphous carbon coatings of thicknesses ranging from 20 nm down to 3.5 …


Topography-Induced Contributions To Friction Forces Measured Using An Atomic Force/Friction Force Microscope, Sriram Sundararajan, Bharat Bhushan Jan 2000

Topography-Induced Contributions To Friction Forces Measured Using An Atomic Force/Friction Force Microscope, Sriram Sundararajan, Bharat Bhushan

Sriram Sundararajan

Most friction studies using an atomic force/friction force microscope, while concentrating on material-induced effects, often present users with conflicting and confusing interpretations of the topography-induced friction forces. It has been generally reported that topography-induced contributions are independent of scanning direction and can be removed by subtracting friction data from forward and backward scans. In this article, we present friction studies on samples with well-defined topography variations and find that the above-given statement is not generally true. At surface locations involving significant changes in topography, the topography-induced contributions to friction forces are found to be different between forward and backward scanning …