Abstract
Nanotribological studies of thin films are needed to develop a fundamental understanding of the phenomena that occur to the interface surfaces that come in contact at the micro and nanoscale and to study the interfacial phenomena that occur in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS) and other applications. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been shown to be an instrument capable of investigating the nanomechanical behavior of many surfaces, including thin films. The measurements of tribo-mechanical behavior for MEMS materials are essential when it comes to designing and evaluating MEMS devices. A great deal of research has been conducted to evaluate the efficiency and reliability of different measurements methods for mechanical properties of MEMS material; nevertheless, the technologies regarding manufacturing and testing MEMS materials are not fully developed. The objectivesof this study are to focus on the review of the mechanical and tribological advantages of thin film and to highlight the experimental results of some thin films to obtain quantitative analyses, the elastic/plastic response and the nanotribological behavior. The slight fluctuation of the results for common thin-film materials is most likely due to the lack of international standardization for MEMS materials and for the methods used to measure their properties.
Highlights
The nano/micro-tribological properties of these materials are governed by several parameters, such as their physical structure, chemical composition, surface properties, including surface energy/wettability and resistance to interfacial shear, and mechanical properties, such as elastic modulus influencing contact area
We present an overview of the nano/micro-tribological properties of the adhesion, friction and wear durability of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)/nano-electro-mechanical systems (NEMS) materials, which includes various films/coatings
It is seen that the nano/micro-tribological properties of these materials are governed by several parameters, such as their physical structure, chemical composition, surface properties, including surface energy/wettability and resistance to interfacial shear, and mechanical properties, such as modulus of elasticity, hardness, adhesion and wear behavior, that influence the contact area
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. In thin film for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), tribological and static interfacial forces occurring at the contact interface are comparable with the driving forces within a micro and macro scale device. In this case, micro and macroscale tribological aspects (lubrication, wear, friction aspects, etc.) are inefficient. We review the fundamental and critical tribological aspects related to micro- and nanoscale mechanical contacts and developments in MEMS thin-film structures. In microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), the tribological and static interface forces are comparable to the forces that lead to the movement of the device In this situation, macroscale lubrication and wear attenuation methods, such as the use of bulk fluids and micrometric thickness coatings, are ineffective; new nano-engineering approaches need to be used for MEMS devices. The usage of direct methods for obtaining the mechanical properties is not appropriate in most cases when MEMS materials are in question
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