Dual Surface Modifications of Silicon Surfaces for Tribological Application in MEMS

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Si(100) surfaces were topographically modified i.e. the surfaces were patterned at micro-scale using photolithography and DRIE (Deep Reactive Ion Etching) fabrication techniques. The patterned shapes included micro-pillars and microchannels. After the fabrication of the patterns, the patterned surfaces were chemically modified by coating a thin DLC film. The surfaces were then evaluated for their friction behavior at micro-scale in comparison with those of bare Si(100) flat, DLC coated Si(100) flat and uncoated patterned surfaces. Experimental results showed that the chemically treated (DLC coated) patterned surfaces exhibited the lowest values of coefficient of friction when compared to the rest of the surfaces. This indicates that a combination of both the topographical and chemical modification is very effective in reducing the friction property. Combined surface treatments such as these could be useful for tribological applications in miniaturized devices such as Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems (MEMS).