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Structure design and experimental investigation of a multi-function stylus profiling system for characterization of engineering surfaces at micro/nano scales

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Abstract

A novel multi-function stylus profiling system has been developed for characterizing surface properties at micro/nanometer scales. The multi-function stylus profiling system provides, within one set-up arrangement, measurements of topography, friction, Young’s modulus and hardness of a surface. The measurement is based on point-by-point scanning so that the four measured functions can be correlated in space and in time. It targets an area that is of growing importance to a wide range of technologies where function-orientated surfaces/coatings are in demand. The essential part of the multi-function stylus profiling system is a special sensing probe, which has an electromagnetic force actuator and three precision capacitive sensors for simultaneous measurements of surface height/deformation and friction force between the probe tip and the surface being scanned. The system provides a controllable loading force in a range of 0.05–20 mN. The topography measurement has a maximum range of 20 µm. The scanning area of 100 µm × 100 µm is closed-loop controlled with an accuracy of 1 nm. Design, analysis, and experimental investigation of the multi-function stylus profiling system are carried out. Evaluations are carried out on certain material surfaces to demonstrate the capability of the system.

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Acknowledgements

This research is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (nos. 51675371, 51675367 51405333, 51420105007), EU H2020 MSCA RISE 2016 (no. 734174).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Mechanism Theory and Equipment Design of Ministry of Education, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China

    Jia Tian, Yanling Tian, Zhiyong Guo, Fujun Wang & Dawei Zhang

  2. School of Mechanical Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, 300130, China

    Jia Tian

  3. School of Engineering, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK

    Yanling Tian & Xianping Liu

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  1. Jia Tian
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  2. Yanling Tian
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  3. Zhiyong Guo
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  4. Fujun Wang
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  5. Dawei Zhang
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  6. Xianping Liu
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Correspondence to Yanling Tian.

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Tian, J., Tian, Y., Guo, Z. et al. Structure design and experimental investigation of a multi-function stylus profiling system for characterization of engineering surfaces at micro/nano scales. Microsyst Technol 24, 2177–2187 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-018-3794-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-018-3794-5

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