Measurement of Friction Force Between Directly Integrated Carbon Nanotube Bundles in Tip-to-Tip Contact Using MEMS Tribometer Platform

In this paper, by using MEMS tribometer platform, we measured static and dynamic friction force between carbon nanotube (CNT) bundles in tip-to-tip contact. The MEMS tribometer platform consists of two shuttles which can have tangential motion relative to the reference shuttle and two comb-drive actuators that can apply normal and tangential force, respectively. Vertically aligned and self-adjusted CNT bundles were directly grown on a designated location in MEMS tribometer platform forming a uniform contact area. By gradually increasing tangential force while observing displacement of each shuttle, we were able to differentiate between static and dynamic friction regime and calculate corresponding friction forces.