AVS 50th International Symposium
    Nanometer Structures Tuesday Sessions
       Session NS-TuP

Paper NS-TuP12
Probing Adhesion and Friction on Nanostructured Surfaces with Chemical Force Microscopy

Tuesday, November 4, 2003, 5:30 pm, Room Hall A-C

Session: Poster Session
Presenter: C.L. Berrie, University of Kansas
Authors: C.L. Berrie, University of Kansas
J.E. Headrick, University of Kansas
Correspondent: Click to Email
Chemical functionalization of AFM probe tips allows regions of different composition on the surface to be identified even in the absence of topographic variations. Unfortunately, many of the established chemical-functionalization methods lead to a significant increase in the size and curvature of the tip radius, which effectively sacrifices the resolving ability of the AFM measurement. In this work, we have chemically-modified commercially-microfabricated Si3N4 AFM tips with a variety of self-assembled alkylsilane monolayers having distinct terminal functionalities, such as -CH3, -CH2Br and -COOH, using a fabrication process that minimizes undesirable resolution-loss due to tip growth. We have measured the adhesion forces and friction loops between these functionalized tips and various substrates, including nanostructured substrates where the chemical composition of the surface varies on the nanometer length scale (for example from hydrophobic to hydrophilic). The nanostructured surfaces are created using the AFM. These results will help us to understand the resolution limits of these techniques by allowing the investigation of the sensitivity of the technique to pattern size.