A study on surface modification for tribological application in MEMS

This paper presents an investigation on combined surface modifications and their effects to tribological properties of Si (100) flat surfaces. At first, micro-patterns were fabricated on Si wafers using photolithography and DRIE (Deep Reactive Ion Etching) fabrication techniques. The patterns include of pillars and channels shape in micro-scales. Secondly, the Si micro-patterns were coated by thin diamond-like carbon (DLC) or Perfluoropolyether (ZDOL) film, individually. The surfaces were then evaluated for the friction and wear properties at micro-scale. Results showed that the patterned surface exhibited reduced friction force compared to the Si flat surfaces, owing to reduced area of contact. Further, the combination of micro-patterns and tribology films such as DLC and ZDOL in this work is very effective in reducing frictional force and wear of the Si flat surface, and would be proved as a potential candidate for tribological applications in miniaturized devices like MEMS.