Ernst Meyer
Institute of Physics
University of Basel, Switzerland
•Control of friction
Ultrahigh vacuum force microscopy
Ultra-sensitive non-
contact force microscope
combined with STM
Friction in Every-day Life
FN
FL
Friction on the Nanometer-scale: Atomic-
Stick Slip
FN = 0.44 nN
Ediss = 1.4 eV
KBr(001)-crystal
(per slip)
Velocity dependence of atomic friction
0,55
0,50
F L (nN)
0,45
0,40
0,35
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
ln (v / 1 nm /s)
k BT v
FL (v) = FL + ln
λ v1
Transition to Ultralow Friction on NaCl(001)
UHV FFM with sharp tip vs. Prandtl-Tomlinson model
kx = 29 N/m, kz = 0.05 N/m, vx = 3 nm/s, const. z
Scans along [100] showing maximum variation
2π 2 E0 E0
η= = π 2
η>1 η<1
ka 2 ka 2
2 η=1
η=3
x
Dependence of Tomlinson Parameters
max
aFL
FL
max
E0 =
π
− kexp 2πFL
max
η= −1
kexp a
η +1
k= kexp
η
k: rather independent
(contact area const.?)
Lateral contact stiffness
1 1 1 1
= + +
k klever ktip kcontact
Continuum model :
kcontact= 8 a G ⇒ a < 1Å ?
− kexp 2πFL
max
η= −1
kexp a
η +1
k= kexp
η
k: rather independent
(contact area const.?)
Lateral contact stiffness
1 1 1 1
= + +
k klever ktip kcontact
Continuum model :
kcontact= 8 a G ⇒ a < 1Å ?
cube or [111]
stub
single ion [100] edge
[001] [011]
s
stab pyramid
t flat bottom
a
b
0.2 forward
backward
Lateral force [nN]
0.1
0.0
-0.1
-0.2
-1 0 1 2 3 4 5
y - displacement (units of a)
perpendicular to tip edge
0.1
Lateral force [nN]
0.0
-0.1
-0.2
forward
-0.3
backward
-1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
x - displacement (units of a)
parallel to tip edge
⇒ Reasonable contact stiffness of
about 1-2N/m
Commensurate [001] Tip: [100] scans
of wear debris
0.0 • Apparent stick slip
behaviour while cluster
-0.5
passes under tip
-1.0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
x - displacement (units of a)
1.0
MD (Berendsen)
0.5
filtered
Low-pass filtered traces from Molecular
Lateral force [nN]
„Nano-Walker“
Heteroepitaxial growth of KBr on NaCl
Agreement with Helium scattering data; Duan et al. Surf. Sci. 272, 220 (1992)
Atomic friction of KBr/NaCl(001)
0.0
-0.1
0 2 4 6 8 10
FN=0.01 nN
distance (nm )
-0.1
0 2 4 6 8 10
distance (nm) FN=-0.31 nN
Superstructure is less pronounced at lower loads Close to jump-off
Variations of the slope of the sticking phase within the unit
cell: Effect of η(FN)/E0(FN) or contact stiffness k?
0.2
0.49 N/m
0.47 N/m
0.34 N/m
friction force (nN)
0.37 N/m
0.41 N/m 200 μ=0.36 N/m
0.1 σ=0.1 N/m
number of points
0.33 N/m 150
100
0.0
50
0
-0.1
0.0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6
stiffness (N/m)
0 1 2 3 4 5
distance (nm)
η 2π 2 E0 E0
kexp = k η= = π 2
η +1 ka 2 ka 2
2
A. Socoliuc, E. Gnecco, S. Maier, O. Pfeiffer, A. Baratoff, R. Bennewitz, E. Meyer, Science 313, 207 (2006)
Frequency dependence of friction
Friction:
Thermal
noise:
η=7
E0
η=5
η=3
η=1
Friction decreases
when α → 1
New parameter ηmin
• The parameter ηmin = η (1-α) determines superlubricity
“Static” case
„Phase“ diagram of friction
• A "phase diagram" in the η-α plane can be drawn:
1
α cr = 1 −
η
"Static" SL
Tips with a
spacing of 3μm
10mm
IBM Zurich
1000 AFM’s
MEMS-Devices
0.9
stick-slip
FN
0.6
0.3
FL (nN)
0.0
-0.3
-0.6
"superlubricity"
-0.9
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0
x (nm)
M. Dienwiebel et al. PRL 92, 126101 (2004) A. Socoliuc et al. PRL 92, 134301 (2004)
Thermal activation:
small velocity ~ high temperature