SCANNING AND FRICTION-FORCE MICROSCOPY OF THIN C-60 FILMS ON GES(001)

The surface morphology of thin C60 films grown epitaxially under ultra -high vacuum conditions on layered GeS(001) substrates has been studie d by scanning force microscopy. The individual C60. layers were imaged down to molecular resolution. The growth mechanism was found to be of layer-by-layer type at the initial stages of growth, but seems to be very sensitive to the substrate temperature. The tribological properti es of these films have been probed simultaneously by means of lateral force microscopy. The frictional coefficient of the C60 layers was det ermined to be significantly smaller than the frictional coefficient of the GeS substrate. This demonstrates that well-ordered C60 films can have even better lubricating properties than a layered material.