| AVS 55th International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Tribology Focus Topic | Wednesday Sessions |
| Session TR+NS+EM+NC-WeA |
| Session: | Nanotribology and Nanomechanics |
| Presenter: | S. Chakraborty, Worcester Polytechnic Institute |
| Authors: | S. Chakraborty, Worcester Polytechnic Institute D. Eggiman, Worcester Polytechnic Institute C. DeGraf, Worcester Polytechnic Institute K. Stevens, Worcester Polytechnic Institute D.-L. Liu, Worcester Polytechnic Institute N.A. Burnham, Worcester Polytechnic Institute |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Dozens of publications address the confounding problem of lateral force calibration. The existing techniques suffer from limitations including: i) repeated measurements are necessary, thereby causing wear to the tip, ii) calibration is done on another cantilever other than the one that will be used in the experiment, iii) specialized or expensive equipment is required, iv) the method is time consuming, v) the calibration is performed ex-situ, vi) a form for the frictional dependence on load is assumed, and vii) the equilibrium diagrams of the forces acting on the tip are incorrect. We describe a method1,2 that overcomes all of these problems; it uses an easily available test sample with a continuously variable slope. The theory and proof-of-concept experimental data will be shown. If confirmed as a robust approach, lateral forces will at last be tamed by simple, quick, and potentially accurate calibration.
1 D. Eggimand, senior thesis, Physics Department, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 2007.
2 C. DeGraf and K. Stevens, senior thesis, Physics Department, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 2006.