Switching adhesion forces by crossing the metal–insulator transition in Magnéli-type vanadium oxide crystals

• Bert Stegemann,
• Matthias Klemm,
• Siegfried Horn and
• Mathias Woydt

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 59–65, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.8

• Johnson–Kendall–Roberts (JKR) model [19]. These two models improved the Hertzian theory [18] by including the effect of adhesion and present the limiting cases of more general contact theories by Maugis [32]. Both models have in common that the pull-off-force is independent of the elastic material

• crystal plane at 120 K and 298 K. The curves show the force interaction during approach and retraction of the tip from the surface. The adhesion force corresponds to the pull-off force between the tip and sample surface. Statistical analysis of the adhesion forces acquired at the V4O7 cleavage plane at (a