Material Dependence of the Contact Behavior of Oscillating Microprobes—Modeling and Experimental Evidence

Abstract

Oscillating microprobes avoid high stress and the sticking effect during contact between microprobe and measured surface. The full performance and application scope of oscillating microprobes can be explored and utilized once the reliable prediction of the microprobe contact behavior is understood. Here, an improved contact model considering adhesion forces, surface roughness, and viscoelastic damping for oscillating microprobes is presented and it is validated by exemplary measurements utilizing a uniaxially oscillating electrostatic microprobe. These results show that the nondestructive identification of material classes seems to be feasible by evaluating the phase shift between the sinusoidal signals of sensor and actuator, respectively.