Date of Defense

4-5-1996

Department

Civil and Construction Engineering

First Advisor

Dr. Vladimir Tsukruk

Second Advisor

Dr. Valery Bliznyuk

Third Advisor

Dr. Clement Burns

Abstract

The scanning probe microscope(SPM) has fast become one of the most versatile and useful tools in investigating the local surface properties of materials. This technique gives a lateral resolution of about 1 nm. Application of this technique gives reproducible, accurate measurements of the nanoscale surface properties such as adhesion, elasticity, hardness, and absolute friction coefficients of new materials. One possible area of application is the development of stable new materials for magnetic data storage devices with high retrieval rates. We are using Langmuir-Blodgett and self-assembling techniques to produce mono layer to multi-layer molecular films with controlled tribological and optical properties. In order to investigate the surface properties and morphology of such films, we have established a straightforward technique for measuring the adhesion and frictional forces of the surface with our scanning apparatus.

Access Setting

Honors Thesis-Campus Only

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