Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

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 …