Lubricants for Extreme Environments: An Atomistic Approach to Solving Friction and Stiction in MEMS

North Carolina State University, Raleigh NC

Investigators

Abstract

Christine S. Grant and Jacqueline Krim North Carolina State University Proposal 0087866 Lubrication for Extreme Environments: An Atomistic Approach to Solving Friction and Stiction in MEMS PROJECT ABSTRACT: Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) are an emerging, cutting-edge technology which relies on the microfabrication of small scale mechanical components and the integration of those components with on-board electronic processing. Today's MEMS rely heavily on silicon-based materials and/or fabrication processes which were originally developed for the microelectronics industry. While such processes and materials have yielded working devices, the materials choices are largely historical and may ultimately not result in optimal performance and mechanical reliability. With the current impetus towards mechanical system dimensions extending well into the nanometer regime, there is a growing need for concomitant studies of the mechanical, materials and tribological properties of sub-micron to molecular-scale systems. Since it is well-established that the macroscopic laws governing such properties are inapplicable at the molecular scale, the need to carry out new and fundamental research relevant to the development of optimal, or even operational submicron-scale mechanical systems, becomes increasingly pressing. The work funded here involves development of such lubricants for use in extreme MEMS operating environments. It is a direct, and integrated extension of the PI and co-PI's current research programs. The work to be performed will be comprehensive, involving the development of environmentally friendly stiction reducing chemical additives for the final rinse stages of MEMS devices, and the examination of how such treatments affect the tribological properties of the devices while in actual operation. Vapor phase lubricants will be screened by means of modern nanotribological techniques on materials of relevance to MEMS. The most promising candidates will then be directly tested on actual MEMS devices supplied by the PI and Co-PI's academic partner at NCSU, as well as on friction testing-MEMS devices produced at Sandia National Laboratories. The research will be meshed with the PI and Co-PI's ongoing educational and outreach efforts. These include outreach activities to underrepresented groups, undergraduate research participation in all aspects of the work to be performed, public lectures on the topic of nanotechnology and friction, and active involvement in undergraduate curriculum development on the topic of fundamentals of friction and lubrication.