F-0208 Measurement of Micro-contacts Using Sputtered Thin Film

Abstract

It is difficult to detect the real contact area with lateral size of less than several μm by existing methods. In this study, using a principle of transfer between sputtered films coated on both of contact surfaces, detecting and measuring micro-contacts between a rough steel ball surface and a smooth glass flat were carried out. By the measurements, distribution of micro-contacts was obtained and the technique was also found to be a very useful method for measurement of micro-contacts with high accuracy. Some FEM analyses were carried out to examine the experimental results.