Interfacial adhesion and friction are important factors in determining the performance and reliability of microelectromechanical systems. We demonstrate that the adhesion of micromachined surfaces is in a regime not considered by standard rough surface adhesion models. At small roughness values, our experiments and models show unambiguously that the adhesion is mainly due to van der Waals dispersion forces acting across extensive non-contacting areas and that it is related to 1/Dave2, where Dave is the average surface separation. These contributions must be considered because of the close proximity of the surfaces, which is a result of the planar deposition technology. At large roughness values, van der Waals forces at contacting asperities become the dominating contributor to the adhesion. In this regime our model calculations converge with standard models in which the real contact area determines the adhesion. We further suggest that topographic correlations between the upper and lower surfaces must be considered to understand adhesion completely.

Switchable polarization can be suppressed in Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 thin films by optical, thermal, electrical, and reducing processes. The optical suppression effect occurs by biasing the ferroelectric near the switching threshold and illuminating the material with band gap light; the thermal suppression effect occurs by biasing the ferroelectric near the switching threshold and heating the material to ≊100 °C. The electrically induced suppression effect, known as electrical fatigue, occurs by subjecting the ferroelectric capacitor to repeated polarization reversals. We find that the suppressed polarization in these three cases can be restored to essentially its initial polarization value by creating electronic charge carriers in the ferroelectric. This strongly suggests that all three forms of degradation largely involve locking domains by electronic charge trapping at domain boundaries. The fourth form of polarization suppression, a reducing treatment, was obtained by annealing the crystallized PZT films at 400 °C in nitrogen. The suppressed polarization could not be restored by injecting electronic charge into the reduced films, indicating that the mechanism for polarization suppression is different. In this case, it appears as though ionic defects, such as oxygen vacancies, are responsible for locking the domains, and hence, suppressing the polarization.

We have developed a new process for applying a hydrophobic, low adhesion energy coating to microelectromechanical (MEMS) devices. Monolayer films are synthesized from tridecafluoro-1 ,1,2,2-tetrahydrooctyltrichlorosilane (FOTS) and water vapor in a low-pressure chemical vapor deposition process at room temperature. Film thickness is self-limiting by virtue of the inability of precursors to stick to h e fluorocarbon surface of the film once it has formed. We have measured film densities of -3 molecules nm2 and film thickness of -I nm. Films are hydrophobic. lvirh n water contact angle >llOo. We have also incorporated an in-situ downstream microwave plasma cleaning process, which provides a clean. reproducible oxide surface prior to film deposition. Adhesion tests on coated and uncoated lMEMS test structures demonstrate superior performance of the FOTS coatings. Cleaned, uncoated cantilever beam structures exhibit high adhesion energies in a high humidity environment. -Ln adhesion energy of 100 mJ m-' is observed after exposure to >90% relative humidity.Fluoroalkylsilane coated beams exhibit negligible adhesion at low humidity and 5 20 pJ m-2 adhesion energy at >90% relative humidity. No'obvious film degradation was observed for films exposed to >90% relative humidity at room temperature for >24 lir.

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controlled humidity ambients. Beams were freed by supercritical C02 drying. Consistent adhesion results were obtained using a post-treatment in an oxygen plasma which rendered the microbeams uniformly hydrophilic. Individual beam deformations were measured by optical interferometry after equilibration at a given relative humidity (RH). Validation of each adhesion measurement was accomplished by comparing the deformations with elasticity theory. The data indicates that adhesion increases exponentially with RH from 30% to 95%, with values from 1 mJ/m2 to 50 mJ/m2. Using the Kelvin equation, we show that the data should be independent of RH if a smooth interface is considered. By modeling a rough interface consistent with atomic force microscopy (AFM) data, the exponential trend is satisfactorily explained.We characterize in-situ the adhesion of surface micromachined polysilicon beams subject to