Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)Topographical Surface Characterization of Multilayer-Coated and Uncoated Carbide Inserts

Authors: Samy E. Oraby, Ayman M. Alaskari

Abstract:

In recent years, scanning probe atomic force microscopy SPM AFM has gained acceptance over a wide spectrum of research and science applications. Most fields focuses on physical, chemical, biological while less attention is devoted to manufacturing and machining aspects. The purpose of the current study is to assess the possible implementation of the SPM AFM features and its NanoScope software in general machining applications with special attention to the tribological aspects of cutting tool. The surface morphology of coated and uncoated as-received carbide inserts is examined, analyzed, and characterized through the determination of the appropriate scanning setting, the suitable data type imaging techniques and the most representative data analysis parameters using the MultiMode SPM AFM in contact mode. The NanoScope operating software is used to capture realtime three data types images: “Height", “Deflection" and “Friction". Three scan sizes are independently performed: 2, 6, and 12 μm with a 2.5 μm vertical range (Z). Offline mode analysis includes the determination of three functional topographical parameters: surface “Roughness", power spectral density “PSD" and “Section". The 12 μm scan size in association with “Height" imaging is found efficient to capture every tiny features and tribological aspects of the examined surface. Also, “Friction" analysis is found to produce a comprehensive explanation about the lateral characteristics of the scanned surface. Configuration of many surface defects and drawbacks has been precisely detected and analyzed.

Keywords: SPM AFM contact mode, carbide inserts, scan size, surface defects, surface roughness, PSD.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1057507

References:

[1] G. Binnig and C. F. Quate, "Atomic Force Microscope," Physical Review Letters, vol. 9, no. 9, pp. 930-933, 1986.
[2] M. Nakamura and H. Tokumoto, "Molecular arrangement of copper phthalocyanine on Si(001)-(2 x 1)-H: a high-resolution frictional force microscopy and molecular mechanics study," Surface Science, vol. 398, no. 1, pp. 143-153, Feb. 1998.
[3] T. Gray, J. Killgore, J. Luo, A. Jen and R. Overney, "Molecular mobility and transitions in complex organic systems studied by shear force microscopy," Nanotechnology, vol. 18, pp. 1-9, 2007.
[4] A. Noy et al., "Chemically-Sensitive imaging in tapping mode by chemical force microscopy: Relationship between phase lag and adhesion," Langmuir, vol. 14, no. 7, pp. 1508-1511, 1998.
[5] R. Maoz, S. Cohen and J. Sagiv, "Nanoelectrochemical patterning of monolayer surfaces: Toward spatially defined self-assembly of nanostructures," Advanced Materials, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 55-61, 1999.
[6] A. Ebner et al., "Recognition imaging using atomic force microscopy," in Handbook of Single-Molecule Biophysics, Springer Science+Buisiness Media, 2009, ch. 18, pp. 524-551.
[7] J. Houston et al., "Comparative study of the adhesion, friction, and mechanical properties of CF3- and CH3-terminated alkanethiol monolayers," Langmuir, vol. 21, no. 9, pp. 3926-3932, 2005.
[8] R. Carpick, D. Sasaki and A. Burns, "Large friction anisotropy of a polydiacetylene monolayer," Tribology Letters, vol. 7, no. 2-3, pp. 79- 85, 1999.
[9] H. Schumacher et al., "Controlled mechanical AFM machining of twodimensional electron systems: fabrication of a single-electron transistor," Physica, vol. 6, no. 1-4, pp. 860-863, Feb. 2000.
[10] M. Enachescu et al "Atomic force microscopy study of an ideally hard contact: The diamond (111)/ tungsten carbide interface," Physical Review Letters, vol. 81, no. 9, pp. 1877-1880, 1998.
[11] B. Bhushan, J. Israelachviii and U. Landman, "Nanotribology, friction, wear and lubricant at atomic scale," Nature, vol. 374, pp. 607-616, 1995.
[12] B. Sumer and M. Sitti, "Rolling and Spinning Friction Characterization of fine particles using lateral force microscopy based contact pushing," J. Adhesion Science Technology, vol. 22, pp. 481-506, 2008.
[13] X. Peng, Z. Barber and T. Clyne, "Surface roughness of diamond-like carbon films prepared using various techniques," Surface and Coatings Technology, vol. 138, pp. 23-32, 2001.
[14] B. Bhushan, "Nanotribology and nanomechanics," Wear, vol. 259, pp. 1507-1531, 2005.
[15] N. Tambe and B. Bhushan, "Scale dependence of micro/nano-friction and adhesion of MEMS/NEMS materials, coatings and lubricants," Nanotechnology, vol. 15, no. 11, pp. 1561-1570, 2004.
[16] S. Kopta and M. Salmeron, "The atomic scale origin of wear on mica and its contribution to friction," J. Chemical Physics, vol. 113, no. 18, pp. 8249-8252, 2000.
[17] G. Garcia-Ayuso, L. Vázquez and J. Martínez-Duarta, "Atomic force microscopy (AFM) morphological surface characterization of transparent gas barrier coatings on plastic films," Surface and Coatings Technology, vol. 80, no. 1-2, pp. 203-206, 1996.
[18] M. Sato et al., "Local mechanical properties measured by atomic force microscopy for cultured bovine endothelial cells exposed to shear stress,". J. Biomechanics, 2000, 33 (1), 127-135.
[19] J. Li et al., "Friction coefficients derived from apparent height variations in contact mode atomic force microscopy images," Langmuir, vol. 15, no. 22, pp. 7662-7669, 1999.
[20] K. Cheng, X. Luo and R. Holt, "Modelling and simulation on the tool wear in nanometric cutting," Wear, vol. 255, no. 7, pp. 1427-1432, 2003.
[21] K. Komai, K. Minoshima S. and Inoue, "Fracture and fatigue behavior of single crystal silicon microelements and nanoscopic AFM damage evaluation," Microsystem Technologies, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 30-37, 1998.
[22] http://nano.tm.agilent.com.
[23] M. Falvo et al., "Manipulation of individual viruses: Friction and mechanical properties," Biophysical Journal, vol. 72, pp. 1396-1403, 1997.
[24] T. Chung, D. Liu, S. Wang and S. Wang, "Enhancement of the growth of human endothelial cells by surface roughness at nanometer scale," Biomaterials, vol. 24, pp. 4655-4661, 2003.
[25] C. Grimellec et al., "Imaging of the surface of living cells by low-force contact-mode atomic force microscopy," Biophysical Journal, vol. 75, pp. 695-703, 1998.
[26] K. Barbee, P. Davies and R. Lal, "Shear stress-induced reorganization of the surface topography of living endothelial cells imaged by atomic force microscopy," Circulation Research, American Heart Association (http://circres.ahajournals.org), vol. 74, pp. 163-171, 1994.
[27] B. Rodriguez et al., "Electromechanical imaging of biomaterials by scanning probe microscopy," Journal of Structural Biology, vol. 153, pp. 151-159, 2006.
[28] M. Yan et al., "On the ductile machining of silicon for micro electromechanical systems (MEMS), opto-electronic and optical applications," Materials Science and Engineering, A29, pp. 230-234, 2001.
[29] Application notes of ASYLUM RESEARCH (www.AsylumResearch.com).
[30] AFM Resource Library - Agilnet Technology (www.afmuniversity.org).
[31] C. Schmitt, J. Elings and M. Serry, "Nanoindenting, Scratching, and wear testing with the atomic force microscope, solutions for a nanoscale world," Veeco Instruments Inc., (www.veeco.com).
[32] F. Peter, A. R├╝diger and R. Waser, "Mechanical crosstalk between vertical and lateral piezoresponse force microscopy," Review of scientific instruments, vol. 77, 036103, pp. 1-3, 2006.
[33] A. Hoffmann, T. Jungk and E. Soergel, "Crosstalk correction in atomic force microscopy," Review of scientific instruments, vol. 78, no. 1, 2007, 016101, doi:10.1063/1.2424448.
[34] P. Prunici and P. Hess "Quantitative characterization of crosstalk effects for friction force microscopy with scan-by-probe SPMs," Ultramicroscopy, vol. 108, pp. 642-645, 2008.
[35] M. Varenberg, I. Etsion and G. Halperin, "Crosstalk problems in scanning-by-probe atomic force microscopy," Review of scientific instruments, vol. 74, no. 7, pp. 3569-3571, 2003.
[36] D. Richard, R. Piner, S. Rodney and R. Ruoff, "Cross talk between friction and height signals in atomic force microscopy," Review of scientific instruments, vol. 73, no. 9, pp. 3392-3394, 2002.
[37] G. Michal, C. Lu and A. Tieu, "Influence of force-based crosstalk on the 'wedge method' in lateral force microscopy," Measurement Science Technology, vol. 20, 2009, doi: 10.1088/0957-0233/20/5/055103.
[38] C. Onal, B. S├╝mer and M. Sitti, "Cross-talk compensation in atomic force microscopy," Review of scientific instruments, vol. 79, no. 10, 2008, 103706, doi:10.1063/1.3002483.
[39] R. Piner, D. Richard, R. Ruoff and S. Rodney, "Effect of friction on height measurement of < 1nm via AFM," American Physical Society, in the Annual APS Meeting, Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis, Indiana Meeting, March 18-22, 2002.
[40] S. Sundararajan and B. Bhushan, "Topography-induced contributions to friction forces measured using an atomic force/friction force microscope," J. Applied Physics, vol. 88, 4825, 2000, 4825, doi:10.1063/1.1310187.
[41] A. Yurtsever, A. Gigler and R. Stark, "Amplitude and frequency modulation torsional resonance mode atomic force microscopy of a mineral surface," Ultramicroscopy, vol. 109, no. 3, pp. 275-279, 2009.
[42] S. Park, K. Costa and G. Ateshian, "Microscale frictional response of bovine articular cartilage from atomic force microscopy," J Biomechanics, vol. 37, no. 11, pp. 1679-1687, 2004.
[43] V. Koinkar and B. Bhushan, "Effect of scan size and surface roughness on microscale friction measurements," J. Applied. Physics, vol. 81, 2472, 1997, doi:10.1063/1.363954.
[44] A. Shegaonkar, C. Lee and S. Salapaka, "Feedback scheme for improved lateral force measurement in atomic force microscopy," in 2008 American Control Conference, Westin Seattle Hotel, Seattle, Washington, USA, June 11-13, 2008.
[45] C. Baur et al., "Nanoparticle manipulation by mechanical pushing: underlying phenomena and real-time monitoring," Nanotechnology, vol. 9, pp. 360-364, 1998.
[46] S. Youn et al., "AFM, SEM and nano/micro-indentation studies of the fib-milled glassy carbon surface hat-treated at different conditions," MEMS and Packaging Group, Advanced Manufacturing Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Stresa, Italy, 26-28 April 2006.
[47] Nanoindentation and Nanoscratching with SPMs for NanoScope™ Version 4.32 Software. Support Note No. 225, Rev. F, Digital Instruments, 1998, 112 Robin Hill Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93117.
[48] B. Bhushan and T. Kasai, "A surface topography-independent friction measurement technique using torsional resonance mode in an AFM," Nanotechnology, vol. 15, 923, 2004, doi: 10.1088/0957-4484/15/8/009.
[49] M. Bische, M. Vanlandingham, R. Eduljee, Jr. Gillespie and J. Schultz, "On the use of nanoscale indentation with the AFM in the identification of phases in blends of linear low density polyethylene and high density polyethylene," Journal of Materials Science, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 221-228, 2000.
[50] Y. Yan, T. Sun, Y. Liang and S. Dong, "Investigation on AFM-based micro/nano-CNC machining system," International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture, vol. 47, pp. 1651-1859, 2007.
[51] G. Schitter, G. Fantner, J. Kindt, P. Thurner and P. Hansma, "On recent developments for high-speed atomic force microscopy," in Proc. of the IEEE/ASME, International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics, Monterey, California, USA, July 24-28, 2005, pp. 261- 264.
[52] P. Vettiger et al., "The "Millipede" nanotechnology entering data storage," IEEE/ASME Trans on Nanotechnology, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 39- 55, 2002.
[53] R. Carpick, N. AgraÛt, D. Ogletree and M. Salmeron, "Variation of the interfacial shear strength and adhesion of a nanometer-sized contact," Langmuir, vol. 12, pp. 3334-3340, 1996.
[54] T. Larsen and K. Molonia, "Comparison of wear characteristics of etched-silicon and carbon nanotube atomic-force microscopy probes," Applied Physics letters, vol. 80, no. 11, pp. 1996-1998, 2002.
[55] G. Li, N. Xi, M. Yu and W. Fung, "Development of augmented reality system for AFM-based nanomanipulation,". IEEE/ASME Trans on Mechatronics, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 358-365, 2004.
[56] S. Kalinin et al., "Vector piezoresponse force microscopy," Microscopy and Microanalysis, Microscopy Society of America, vol. 12, pp. 206- 220, 2006.
[57] M. Varenberg, I. Etsion and G. Halperin, "An improved wedge calibration method for lateral force in atomic force microscopy," Review of Scientific Instruments, vol. 74, no. 7, pp. 3362-3367, 2003.
[58] M. Bloo, H. Haitjem and W. Pril, "Deformation and wear of pyramidal, silicon-nitride AFM tips scanning micrometre-size features in contact mode measurement," Measurement, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 203-211, 1999.
[59] MultiMode™ SPM Instruction Manual Version 4.31ce, 1996-99 Digital Instruments, Veeco Metrology Group.
[60] T. Jung et al., "Atomic force microscope used as a powerful tool for machining surfaces," Ultramicroscopy, vol. 42-44 (B), pp. 1446-1451, 1992.
[61] T. Fang and W. Chang, "Effects of AFM-based nanomachining process on aluminum surface," Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids, vol. 64, pp. 913-918, 2003.
[62] T. Fang, C. Weng and J. Chang, "Machining characterization of the nano-lithography process using atomic force microscopy," Nanotechnology, vol. 11, pp. 181-187, 2000.
[63] Y. Guu, "AFM surface imaging of AISI D2 tool steel machined by the EDM process," Applied Surface Science, vol. 242, pp. 245-250, 2005.
[64] J. Cheng, C. Wei, K. Hsua and T. Toung, "Direct-write laser micromachining and universal surface modification of PMMA for device development," Sensors and Actuators, B, vol. 99, pp. 186-196, 2004.
[65] A. Chimmalgi, T. Choi, C. Grigoropoulos and K. Komvopoulos, "Femtosecond laser aperturless near-field nanomachining of metals assisted by scanning probe microscopy," Applied Physics Letters, vol. 82, no. 8, pp. 1146-1148, 2003.
[66] NanoScope Software 6.13 User Guide. 2004, Veeco Instruments Inc.
[67] C. Poon and B. Bhushan, "Comparison of surface roughness measurements by stylus profiler, AFM and non-contact optical profiler," Wear, vol. 190, pp. 76-88, 1995.
[68] S. Sundararajan and B. Bhushan, "Static friction and surface roughness studies of surface micromachined electrostatic micromotors using an atomic force/friction force microscope," J. Vacuum Science Technology, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 1777-1785, 2001.
[69] G. Simpson, D. Sedin and K. Rowlen, "Surface roughness by contact versus tapping mode atomic force microscopy," Langmuir, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 1429-1434, 1999.
[70] A. Ankudinov et al., "Cross-sectional atomic force microscopy of ZnMgSSeand BeMgZnSe-based laser diodes," Applied Physics Letters, vol. 75, no. 17, pp. 2626-2629, 1999.