Measuring wear by combining friction force and dynamic force microscopy

We introduce a technique for measuring wear on the nano-scale by combining friction force and dynamic force microscopy. By measuring the resonance frequency of the cantilever after scratching over a sample surface we are able to detect the increase or decrease of the tip’s worn mass down to some picograms. Applying a recently developed technique to attach a small sphere to the upper end of the cantilever’s tip we are able to measure the nano-wear of several material combinations with this approach.