A novel approach for the investigation of mesoscopic contact mechanics

We present a novel experimental technique devoted to the investigation of contact mechanics on mesoscopic scale. It consists of an atomic force microscope (AFM) equipped with custom-designed probes with integrated flat micrometric tips. Samples are normally compressed by the flat tips and load-displacement curves are acquired. The latter allow to investigate the mechanical response under a multi-asperity regime not accessible by conventional AFM. Preliminary results are reported for the contact mechanics of nanostructured carbon-based films having a self-affine fractal morphology.