Tribological Studies of Microelectromechanical Systems

Technical Report · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 2008

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1324748· OSTI ID:1324748

Timpe, Shannon J. ^[1]; Komvopoulos, Kyriakos ^[1]; Antoun, Bonnie R. ^[2]; Dugger, Michael Thomas ^[3]

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1. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
2. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States). Mechanics of Materials
3. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Microsystem Materials

Understanding and controlling friction in micromachine interfaces is critical to the reliability and operational efficiency of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). The relatively high adhesion forces and friction forces encountered in these devices often present major obstacles to the design of reliable MEMS devices. Using surface micromachining, arrays of microstructures are being designed and tested to examine the adhesion characteristics, static friction behavior, and dynamic friction response. Emphasis is also being given to the control and actuation of the test structures and the modeling of the dynamic response and contact mechanics at the interface. Specifically, the purpose of the research is to fabricate and test MEMS devices in order to obtain insight into the effect of surface topography, material properties, surface chemical state, environmental conditions, and contact load on the static and dynamic characteristics of the contact interface.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000
• OSTI ID: 1324748
• Report Number(s): SAND2008--0051; 254054
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

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