A purpose-built atomic force and friction force microscope (AFM/FFM) was em
ployed to study micro friction and wear behavior of thin films of Langmiur-
Blodgett (L-B), gold (Au), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), silicon nitride
(Si3N4) and PTFE/Si3N4 multi-layers prepared by different deposition techni
ques. The results show that the L-B film has a low friction coefficient but
can be worn easily under a light load less than 20 nN; Au film and silicon
wafer has a higher friction coefficient than that of L-B film and can be w
orn under a higher load of approximately 50 nN; the PTFE/Si3N4 multilayer h
as a lower friction coefficient than that of Si3N4 and has a higher micro w
ear resistance than that of PTFE. The friction force of the PTFE/Si3N4 mult
ilayer is linear with the load at the nanometer scale. The worn track is fo
rmed in PTFE film and PTFE/Si3N4 multilayers when the load is greater than
70 nN. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.