Friction and wear studies on lubricants and materials applicable to MEMS

Abstract

A simple method is proposed to evaluate the friction and wear of thin films which can be applied as lubricants to moving surfaces in MEMS (microelectromechanical systems). Thin films of solid and liquid were studied. Large friction coefficient and large wear rate are observed for an SiN/polysilicon combination. Large friction coefficient and slight wear were observed for an SiN/SiN combination. DLC (diamond-like carbon) has a low friction coefficient of 0.2 approximately 0.3 with SiN and polysilicon. It is shown that a DLC film and a liquid lubricant film are very effective in reducing friction and wear at the SiN/polysilicon interface.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>