Theory of depinning of monolayer films adsorbed on a quartz crystal microbalance.
In quartz crystal microbalance studies of the friction between an adsorbed monolayer film and a metallic substrate, the films are observed to slide relative to the substrate under inertial forces of order 10(-14) dyn per film atom, a force much smaller than all existing theoretical estimates of the force that surface defects are capable of exerting on the film. We argue that defect potentials with a range comparable to an atomic spacing or more will produce a pinning force below the inertial force.
Physics Department and Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Complex Systems, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
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Sokoloff
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Webman