AVS 45th International Symposium
    Nanometer-scale Science and Technology Division Monday Sessions
       Session NS+SS-MoM

Paper NS+SS-MoM8
Deformation and Friction of Organic Monolayers

Monday, November 2, 1998, 10:40 am, Room 321/322/323

Session: Tribology, Adhesion and Interfacial Forces
Presenter: J.D. Kiely, Sandia National Laboratories
Authors: J.D. Kiely, Sandia National Laboratories
J.E. Houston, Sandia National Laboratories
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The use of organic monolayers as lubricating films has received considerable attention recently, especially with regard to their potential use in micromachine applications. We have used the interfacial force microscope (IFM) to characterize, on the nanometer scale, tribological properties of alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers on Au and monolayers of octadecyltrichlorosilane and perfluorodecyltrichlorosilane on Si. The IFM is similar to the atomic force microscope (AFM) but is distinguished by it use of a quantitative, mechanically stable, zero-compliance force sensor which allows us to measure both normal and frictional forces in a controlled fashion (i.e., without 'snap-to-contact'). We quantitatively relate monolayer deformation (chracterized by using the IFM in a nanoindentation mode) to friction, and find that, in the absence of appreciable adhesion/adhesion hysteresis, friction is very well correlated with deformation hysteresis. Additionally, we have identified the effects of wear, monolayer preparation procedure, and the environment (e.g., UV exposure and humidity) on tribological properties. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract DEAC04-94AL85000. Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed-Martin Company, for the U.S. Department of Energy.