Static friction between sidewall contact surfaces of polycrystalline silicon micromachines was investigated under different contact pressures, vacuum conditions, relative humidity levels, and temperatures. The static coefficient of friction exhibited a nonlinear dependence on the external contact pressure. A difference between in-contact and pull-out adhesion forces was observed due to the elastic recovery of the deformed asperities at the contact interface. The true static coefficient of friction was determined by considering the effects of the dominant adhesion forces (i.e., van der Waals and capillary forces) on the normal force applied at the sidewall contact interface. The roles of van der Waals and capillary forces in the sidewall friction behavior were analyzed in light of results for the interfacial shear strength and the adhesion force. The major benefits of the present friction micromachine and the developed experimental scheme are discussed in the context of static coefficient of friction and adhesion force results obtained under different environmental and loading conditions.[1753]

A surface micromachine was designed specifically for studying sidewall adhesion in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). The dependence of surface adhesion on contact load and ambient conditions was investigated under quasistatic normal loading conditions. Insight was obtained into the relative contributions of van der Waals and capillary forces to the measured adhesion force. Several shortcomings in previous adhesion studies of MEMS were overcome, and measurement of the true adhesion force was achieved under different testing conditions. The present experimental procedure enables the isolation of the van der Waals component of the adhesion force and the determination of the contributions of both contacting and noncontacting asperities to the total adhesion force at the inception of surface separation. The major benefits of the developed experimental methodology and surface micromachine are discussed in the context of adhesion results obtained for different values of apparent contact pressure, ambient pressure, and relative humidity.[1373]

The evolution of wear at sidewall surfaces of polysilicon microelectromechanical systems was investigated in high vacuum under controlled normal load and sliding speed conditions. The static adhesion force was used as an indicator of the changes in wear characteristics occurring during oscillatory sliding contact. Measurements of the static adhesion force as a function of sliding cycles and scanning electron microscopy observations of micromachines from the same batch process subjected to nominally identical testing conditions revealed two distinctly different tribological patterns, namely, low-adhesion/high-wear behavior and high-adhesion/low-wear behavior. The static adhesion force and wear behavior were found to be in direct correlation with the micromachine operational lifetime. Transmission electron microscopy, selected area diffraction, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy yielded insight into the origin, microstructure, and composition of wear debris and agglomerates adhered onto the sliding surfaces. Results demonstrate a strong dependence of micromachine operational life on the removal of the native oxide film and the organic monolayer coating as well as the formation of agglomerates consisting of organic coating material and wear debris.[2008-0121]

Reported here is a study of the tribological degradation of the contact interface of a fluorocarbon monolayer-coated polycrystalline silicon microdevice. A surface micromachined silicon tribometer is employed to track changes in the adhesion and friction properties during repetitive normal and sliding contacts. Evidence for tribological degradation commences immediately for parallel sliding contact motion, and is slightly delayed in the case of repetitive impact loading normal to the surface. The observed changes in interfacial behavior indicate dramatic changes in the chemical ͑i.e., surface energy͒ and physical ͑i.e., roughness, real contact area, etc.͒ nature of the contacting surfaces. Results from microscale sliding and impact experiments are interpreted in the light of the primary physical and chemical degradation mechanisms of monolayer-coated silicon microdevices.