By taking advantage of the mechanical anisotropy of crystalline materials, processing at a single-layer level can be realized for layered crystalline materials with periodically weak bonds. Mica (muscovite), graphite, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), and boron nitride have layered structures, and there is little interaction between the cleavage planes existing in the basal planes of these materials. Moreover, it is easy to image the atoms on the basal plane, where the processed shape can be observed on the atomic level. This study reviews research evaluating the nanometer-scale wear and friction as well as the nanometer-scale mechanical processing of muscovite using atomic force microscopy (AFM). It also summarizes recent AFM results obtained by our research group regarding the atomic-scale mechanical processing of layered materials including mica, graphite, MoS2, and highly oriented pyrolytic graphite.
Keywords: AFM; Layered crystalline materials; Microscopy; Nanoprocessing; Tribology.