Friction reduction and particle manipulation on the nanoscale
CIC nanoGUNE Seminars
- Speaker
-
Enrico Gnecco, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- When
-
2010/04/28
13:00 - Place
- nanoGUNE seminar room, Tolosa Hiribidea 76, Donostia - San Sebastian
- Add to calendar
- iCal
Understanding and controlling friction on the nanoscale is essential for
proper functioning of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) as well as for
manipulating nanoparticles and even organic molecules on a solid surface.
In the first part of my talk, I will summarize the research work that I have
performed in the last decade at the University of Basel on this topic. This
work, consisting in series of AFM experiments on crystal surfaces in UHV
combined with theoretical refinements of the Prandtl-Tomlinson model,
contributed to shed light into the mechanisms of stick-slip, superlubricity,
friction anisotropy, and wear onset down to the atomic scale [1]. In
particular, I will show how the concept of “dynamic superlubricity†[2]
has been successfully applied to extend the resolution limits of AFM in
contact mode and the lifetime of data storage devices, as demonstrated by
recent results [3, 4].
In the second part, I will focus on the manipulation of nano-objects on solid
surfaces. A collisional model that I have recently developed [5] allows to
control the motion of nanospheres, nanorods and irregularly shaped islands in
a relatively simple way. I will also mention how the manipulation process is
affected by friction between particles and substrate. Combining superlubricity
with nanomanipulation is a challenging task that may lead to important results
in the near future. Significant modeling work is also expected.
[1] E. Gnecco & E. Meyer, “Fundamentals of friction and wear on the
nanoscaleâ€, Springer, Berlin, 2007; E. Gnecco & M. Szymonski, “Nanoscale
processes on insulating surfacesâ€, World Scientific, Singapore, 2009
[2] A. Socoliuc, E. G., et al., Science 313 (2006) 207
[3] E. Gnecco et al., Nanotech. 20 (2009) 025501
[4] M. A. Lantz et al., Nature Nanotech. 4 (2009) 586; E. Gnecco, Nature N&V
461 (2009) 178
[5] A. Rao, E. G., et al., Nanotech. 20 (2009) 115706