3. Discrete study of the deformation of asperities on nanorough surfaces

Having demonstrated the correlation between adhesion forces and contact surface topography using a statistical approach, it now makes sense to look at the local deformation of each asperity. Thus, the discrete aspect of rough contact tribology is analyzed by a new spherical nano-indentation experiment on the gold thin film. Compared with the tests carried out previously (section 2), an analysis of the rough surface is carried out by processing AFM images of the surface before and after indentation. In this way, information on the height of the...