ABSTRACT
The atomistic mechanisms and dynamics of the interactions of two materials during relative motion need to be understood in order to develop a fundamental understanding of adhesion, friction, wear, indentation, and lubrication processes. At most solid-solid interfaces of technological relevance, contact occurs at many asperities. Consequently, the importance of investigating single asperity contacts in studies of the fundamental micromechanical and tribological properties of surfaces and interfaces has long been recognized. The recent emergence and proliferation of proximal probes, in particular scanning probe microscopies (the scanning tunneling microscope and the atomic force microscope) and the surface force apparatus, and of computational techniques for simulating tip-surface interactions and interfacial properties, has allowed systematic investigations of interfacial problems with high resolution as well as ways and means for modifying and manipulating nanoscale structures. These advances have led to the appearance of the new field of micro/nanotribology, which pertains to experimental and theoretical investigations of interfacial processes on scales ranging from the atomic-and molecular-to the microscale, occurring during adhesion, friction, scratching, wear, nanoindentation, and thin-film lubrication at
sliding surfaces (Singer and Pollock, 1992; Persson and Tosatti, 1996; Bhushan, 1995, 1997, 1998a,b, 1999a,b,c; Bhushan et al., 1995a; Guntherodt et al., 1995).
