Correlation analysis of surface topography and its mechanical properties

This paper presents an investigation on the correlation between surface functions measured by a novel multi-function tribological probe microscope (TPM) at the micro/nanometre level. Four surface functions of topography, friction, nano-hardness and Young's modulus are measured over a range of materials, on a point-by-point basis, by using the TPM. The capability of multi-function mapping of the TPM allows the cross correlation to be carried out, in order to investigate the influence of one function to another, especially the surface topography's effect on its mechanical properties. A general negative correlation between surface topography and hardness/Young's modulus has been found for most homogeneous surfaces, which indicates the modulation effect of surface geometrical features on its mechanical properties