AVS 51st International Symposium
    Nanometer-scale Science and Technology Wednesday Sessions
       Session NS-WeA

Paper NS-WeA7
Nanotribological Properties of Ultrananocrystalline Diamond

Wednesday, November 17, 2004, 4:00 pm, Room 213D

Session: Nanotribology and Nanomechanics
Presenter: D.S. Grierson, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Authors: D.S. Grierson, University of Wisconsin-Madison
A.V. Sumant, University of Wisconsin-Madison
J.E. Gerbi, Argonne National Laboratory
J.P. Birrell, Argonne National Laboratory
J.A. Carlisle, Argonne National Laboratory
O.H. Auciello, Argonne National Laboratory
R.W. Carpick, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Correspondent: Click to Email
The development of micro- and nano-scale devices with moving parts continues to progress rapidly, but the issue of tribological failure remains critical. The high surface-to-volume ratio at small scales requires that nano-scale adhesion and friction be characterized and reduced. Silicon, the main material currently used in micro- and nanodevices, suffers from poor tribological properties. Ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) is a thin film material that may be far superior tribologically. We present the first measurements of nano-scale adhesion and friction of the tribologically relevant underside of UNCD. This surface is far less adhesive than a silicon reference sample. Furthermore, UNCD can be processed to render it chemically identical to single crystal diamond, minimizing the work of adhesion to the van der Waals limit and strongly reducing friction as well. Our methodology is not only applicable to diamond-based devices but could very well be extended to any thin film material.