Structure evolution in tribological interfaces studied by multilayer model alloys

Martin Dienwiebel1,2, Ebru Cihan1,2, 

 1Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, MicroTribology Center µTC, Institute for Applied Materials, Karlsruhe, Germany — 2Fraunhofer IWM, Freiburg, Germany

Abstract
During sliding of surfaces the near surfaces undergo significant changes in terms of topography, composition and microstructure and a so-called “third body” or “tribomaterial” forms which differs strongly from the bulk materials in terms of topography, composition and microstructure. Initially we use multilayer model alloys of an Au/Ni layer system to study effects of grain size on steady-stady friction by varying the layer spacing and the number of layers. Using an UHV microtribometer, we find that the friction strongly depends on the layer spacing as well as the tribologically induced structures as found by FIB and TEM/EDX.