High-vacuum tribometers: State of the art and current developments

G. J. Molina, C. Kajdas, M. J. Furey, R. McDaniel

Research output: Contribution to book or proceedingConference articlepeer-review

Abstract

This paper reviews the application to tribology research of the techniques of high-vacuum surface science, in particular their integration into high-vacuum tribometers. The state of the art, the varied research interests, and the rationale for requiring such research instruments are discussed. The authors have developed a new type of high-vacuum tribometer that is aimed to the detection and characterization of charged-particle triboemission. This tribometer has been successfully used to count triboemitted charges as channel-electron-multiplier pulses and their energy distribution from different material pairs (i.e., ceramics and semiconductors when scratched by a diamond pin, and ceramics-on-same-ceramics). Instrument enhancement is ongoing to include simultaneous under-vacuum photon counting and surface work-function measurement by Kelvin-probe. The enhanced facility will enable one-of-a-kind experiments by characterizations and correlations of electron and photon emission, and of surface property evolution dynamics during sliding contact.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication2008 Proceedings of the STLE/ASME International Joint Tribology Conference, IJTC 2008
Pages151-153
Number of pages3
StatePublished - 2009
Event2008 STLE/ASME International Joint Tribology Conference, IJTC 2008 - Miami, FL, United States
Duration: Oct 20 2008Oct 22 2008

Publication series

Name2008 Proceedings of the STLE/ASME International Joint Tribology Conference, IJTC 2008

Conference

Conference2008 STLE/ASME International Joint Tribology Conference, IJTC 2008
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityMiami, FL
Period10/20/0810/22/08

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