Micro/NANO-Friction and Thermal-Mechanical Properties of Polymer Thin-Film Investigated with an Integrated SPM Probe Array

Size and temperature effects of micro/nano friction between a tiny tip and a polymer film are investigated. This topic is important in MEMS/NEMS such as high-density thermal-mechanical data storage on polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) film. In present research, three electric-thermal probe-tips with varied apex dimensions are on-chip integrated to study the micro/nano friction and structural properties, which are remained as unsolved problems in MEMS/NEMS. Present experiments directly reveal significant size and temperature effects on micro/nano friction, adhesion and the structural transitions of PMMA thin film.