Note: A novel integrated microforce measurement system for plane-plane contact research.

The evaluation of plane-plane contact force has become a big issue in micro-/nano research, for example in microassembly. However with the lack of effective experimental equipments, the research on plane-plane contact has been limited to theoretical formulations or virtual simulation. In this paper, a microforce sensor and precision parallel robot integrated system is proposed for the microforce measurement of plane-plane contact. In the proposed system, the two objects are fixed on the parallel robot end-platform and the microforce sensor probe tip, respectively, and the high precision robot system is employed to provide six degree-of-freedom motions between both objects. So it is convenient for the microforce measurement between the planar objects with different orientations. As a significant application, the proposed system is utilized for measurements of pull-off force between planar objects, in which the validation of the system is demonstrated in practice. The proposed microforce measurement system is generic, which can be extended to a variety of microforce measurements in plane-plane contact.

[1]  D. Gweon,et al.  A new nano-accuracy AFM system for minimizing Abbe errors and the evaluation of its measuring uncertainty. , 2007, Ultramicroscopy.

[2]  Y. Ando.  The effect of relative humidity on friction and pull-off forces measured on submicron-size asperity arrays , 2000 .

[3]  B. Bhushan.  Nanotribology, nanomechanics and nanomaterials characterization , 2008, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences.

[4]  G. V. Dedkov,et al.  Deformation of the contact region and adhesional friction between nanoprobe and surface , 2000 .

[5]  D. Gweon,et al.  Optimal design of a flexure hinge-based XYZ atomic force microscopy scanner for minimizing Abbe errors , 2005 .

[6]  H. El-Shall,et al.  Direct AFM measurements of adhesion forces between calcium oxalate monohydrate and kidney epithelial cells in the presence of Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions. , 2008, Journal of colloid and interface science.

[7]  Anne Gelb,et al.  Roughness models for particle adhesion. , 2004, Journal of colloid and interface science.

[8]  G. L. Klimchitskaya,et al.  Theoretical and experimental investigation of the force–distance relation for an atomic force microscope with a pyramidal tip , 2000 .

[9]  Bharat Bhushan,et al.  In situ study of nano-cracking in multilayered magnetic tapes under monotonic and fatigue loading using an AFM. , 2004, Ultramicroscopy.

[10]  Philippe Lutz,et al.  Measurement of pull-off force for planar contact at the microscale , 2009 .

[11]  Bharat Bhushan,et al.  New technique for studying nanoscale friction at sliding velocities up to 200mm∕s using atomic force microscope , 2006 .

[12]  Jacqueline Krim,et al.  Surface science and the atomic-scale origins of friction: what once was old is new again , 2002 .

[13]  H. Fischer,et al.  Theoretical investigation of van der Waals forces between solid surfaces at nanoscales , 2009 .

[14]  J. Aimé,et al.  Role of the adhesion between a nanotip and a soft material in tapping mode AFM , 2000 .

[15]  K. Johnson,et al.  ADHESION BETWEEN AN AFM PROBE AND AN INCOMPRESSIBLE ELASTIC FILM , 2004 .

[16]  B. Bhushan,et al.  Atomic force microscopic study of the micro-cracking of magnetic thin films under tension , 2001 .

[17]  Bharat Bhushan,et al.  A new atomic force microscopy based technique for studying nanoscale friction at high sliding velocities , 2005 .