摘要
Adhesiion assessment of nanoscale contacts is a critical capability for the development of future nanoelectromechanical systems and nanobiotechnology devices. However, experimental approaches to investigate interactions on micro- and nanostructured surfaces have predominantly been restricted to capturing adhesion force in the normal direction. This provides limited information about the multidimensional nature of surface texture and related interaction mechanisms. Here the design, fabrication, and application of a unique atomic force microscope probe is presented that consists of a focused ion beam-milled cantilever decorated with a colloidal particle. The probe is specifically developed for characterizing textured surfaces with lateral force feedback. Pull-off tests that map the adhesive interaction in microscale cavities are performed to exami ne the capability of the probe. Normal and lateral adhesive forces duri ng nano scale contact are accurately obtai ned and the adhesi on en ergy of the con tact interface is thus determi ned. An in-depth un dersta nding of the effects of surface texture and the correlati on of adhesi on and fricti on is dem on strated. The proposed methodology en ables dedicated in vestigatio ns of in terfacial in teracti on on various norvplanar surfaces. It can be used for un dersta nding the complex in terplay of adhesi on, con tact, and fricti on forces at nano scale, which may facilitate significant advances in challenging research areas such as fibrillar adhesion.
