Wear characterization and achieving a fundamental understanding of wear at sub-micrometer length scales is not only important for thin tribological films used in magnetic storage media and MEMS, but also for optimization of tribological performance of large engineered systems. The ability to characterize wear properties of ultra-thin films and the capability to understand sliding single asperity contact interactions in conventional engineered systems is critical for designing components with an enhanced service life. Hysitron’s nanotribological test instruments provide quantitative measurement of wear behavior over the nanoscale and microscale, allowing a better understanding and prediction of complex non-linear and non-equilibrium wear processes.

Bruker has developed a comprehensive suite of characterization techniques for nanoscale-to-microscale wear characterization. Utilizing Hysitron’s patented capacitive transducer technologies, quantitative insights into wear deformation behavior can be obtained over multiple length scales. Combined with Bruker’s exclusive in-situ SPM imaging capabilities, wear volumes resulting from single asperity contacts can be measured as a function of number of cycles, sliding velocity, and applied force. Customizable high-durability test probe geometries, probe materials, and environmental conditions can be tailored to replicate real-world material interactions and achieve a broader and more fundamental understanding of multi-scale wear processes.