Adhesion Test of Nanostructured Materials by a Novel AFM Probe

We have developed a novel atomic force microscope (AFM) probe as a highly sensitive sensor and an application of the probe into various mechanical tests for characterizing micro/nanostructures. Using MEMS fabrication technique, we have designed and fabricated rhombus-shaped symmetric AFM probe. Adhesion forces between silicon tip and artificial nano-hair structures of cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) and polypropylene (PP) were measured using the probe with a flat tip. The results exhibited the usual characteristics of force-displacement curves of COC and PP nano-hair structures, in which a pull-off force was detected at the point of unloading. The average adhesion forces of the COC and PP hair structures are about 9.48 μN and 10.67 μN, respectively.