Article: Fabrication of micro-ball styluses for scanning-type surface form metrology Journal: International Journal of Nanomanufacturing (IJNM) 2012 Vol.8 No.1/2 pp.87 - 105 Abstract: Two types of micro-ball styluses were fabricated for scanning-type surface form metrology. The micro-ball stylus is composed of a precision glass micro-ball and a shaft made by stainless steel or glass tube. The diameter of the micro-ball was less than 50 µm. The tip angle of the glass-tube shaft was approximately 10 degrees and that of the stainless steel shaft was approximately 50 degrees. It was confirmed that the micro-ball stylus with the glass-tube shaft can tolerate a 90 mN external force applied from the direction with an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the shaft axis, which was much more tolerant than the micro-ball stylus with the stainless steel shaft. To reduce the influence of the stick-slip phenomena caused by friction between the ball and the scanned surface, a PZT actuator was added to the micro-ball stylus, which is called the micro-tapping probe, so that the ball can be oscillated with a high frequency. Experiments of scanning the micro-ball stylus, which was mounted on an air-bearing displacement sensor, over a flat surface were carried out to test some basic performances of the micro-ball stylus. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: Fabrication of micro-ball styluses for scanning-type surface form metrology

Authors: Yuki Shimizu; Bin Xu; Wei Gao

Addresses: Department of Nanomechanics, School of Engineering, Tohoku University, 6-6-01, Aramaki Aza Aoba, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8579, Japan. ' Department of Nanomechanics, School of Engineering, Tohoku University, 6-6-01, Aramaki Aza Aoba, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8579, Japan. ' Department of Nanomechanics, School of Engineering, Tohoku University, 6-6-01, Aramaki Aza Aoba, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8579, Japan

Abstract: Two types of micro-ball styluses were fabricated for scanning-type surface form metrology. The micro-ball stylus is composed of a precision glass micro-ball and a shaft made by stainless steel or glass tube. The diameter of the micro-ball was less than 50 µm. The tip angle of the glass-tube shaft was approximately 10 degrees and that of the stainless steel shaft was approximately 50 degrees. It was confirmed that the micro-ball stylus with the glass-tube shaft can tolerate a 90 mN external force applied from the direction with an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the shaft axis, which was much more tolerant than the micro-ball stylus with the stainless steel shaft. To reduce the influence of the stick-slip phenomena caused by friction between the ball and the scanned surface, a PZT actuator was added to the micro-ball stylus, which is called the micro-tapping probe, so that the ball can be oscillated with a high frequency. Experiments of scanning the micro-ball stylus, which was mounted on an air-bearing displacement sensor, over a flat surface were carried out to test some basic performances of the micro-ball stylus.

Keywords: micro-ball stylus; shaft; surface scanning; surface form metrology; stick-slip; friction; PZT actuators; micro-tapping probes.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNM.2012.044657

International Journal of Nanomanufacturing, 2012 Vol.8 No.1/2, pp.87 - 105

Published online: 21 Aug 2014 *

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Title: Fabrication of micro-ball styluses for scanning-type surface form metrology

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