Vibration-induced nanoscale friction modulation on piezoelectric materials

• Published in: Friction Vol. 10; no. 10; pp. 1650 - 1659
• Main Authors: Cao, Jiawei, Li, Qunyang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Beijing Tsinghua University Press 01.10.2022; Springer Nature B.V; State Key Laboratory of Tribology,Tsinghua University,Beijing 100084,China; Applied Mechanics Laboratory,Department of Engineering Mechanics,Tsinghua University,Beijing 100084,China%Applied Mechanics Laboratory,Department of Engineering Mechanics,Tsinghua University,Beijing 100084,China
• Subjects: Alternating current; Atomic force microscopy; Corrosion and Coatings; Engineering; Friction; Friction reduction; Lubricants; Mechanical Engineering; Modulation; Nanotechnology; Perturbation; Physical Chemistry; Piezoelectricity; Research Article; Surfaces and Interfaces; Thin Films; Tribology; Vibration; piezoelectric materials; Prandtl—Tomlinson (P—T) model; friction modulation; vibration; contact resonance; Prandtl-Tomlinson(P-T)model
• ISSN: 2223-7690; 2223-7704
• DOI: 10.1007/s40544-021-0552-y

Mechanical vibration, as an alternative of application of solid/liquid lubricants, has been an effective means to modulate friction at the macroscale. Recently, atomic force microscopy (AFM) experiments and model simulations also suggest a similar vibration-induced friction reduction effect for nanoscale contact interfaces, although an additional external vibration source is typically needed to excite the system. Here, by introducing a piezoelectric thin film along the contact interface, we demonstrate that friction measured by a conductive AFM probe can be significantly reduced (more than 70%) when an alternating current (AC) voltage is applied. Such real-time friction modulation is achieved owing to the localized nanoscale vibration originating from the intrinsic inverse piezoelectric effect, and is applicable for various material combinations. Assisted by analysis with the Prandtl—Tomlinson (P—T) friction model, our experimental results suggest that there exists an approximately linear correlation between the vibrational amplitude and the relative factor for perturbation of sliding energy corrugation. This work offers a viable strategy for realizing active friction modulation for small-scale interfaces without the need of additional vibration source or global excitation that may adversely impact device functionalities.