Abstract: To understand the deformation and removal mechanism of material
on nano-scale and at ultralow loads, a systemic study on AFM
micro/nano-machining on single crystal silicon is conducted. The
results indicate that AFM nano-machining has a precisely
dimensional controllability and a good surface quality on
nanometer scale. A SEM is adopted to observe nano-machined region
and chips, the results indicate that the material removal
mechanisms change with the applied normal load. An XPS is used
to analyze the changes of chemical composition inside and
outside the nano-machined region respectively. The nano-indentation
which is conducted with the same AFM diamond tip on the machined
region shows a big discrepancy compared with that on the
macro-scale. The calculated results show higher nano-hardness
and elastic modulus than normal values. This phenomenon can be
regarded as the indentation size effect (ISE).
Key words: Atomic
force microscope Diamond tip Nano-machining Single crystal
silicon Mechanical property
*
This project
is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.59835180) and Science
and Technology Foundation of Harbin Institute of Technology.
Manuscript received on December 15, 2000; revised manuscript February 15, 2001
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