AVS 50th International Symposium
    Nanometer Structures Wednesday Sessions
       Session NS-WeA

Paper NS-WeA2
Nanotribological Properties of Ultrananocrystalline Diamond

Wednesday, November 5, 2003, 2:20 pm, Room 308

Session: Nanotribology
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.A. Carlisle, Argonne National Laboratory
O. Auciello, Argonne National Laboratory
R.W. Carpick, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Correspondent: Click to Email
There is an increasing demand for materials applicable to rolling and sliding contacts in MEMS technology. Ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) films have unique mechanical and tribological properties that exhibit great potential for increasing the reliability of micro and nanoscale devices. Fabrication of MEMS components with UNCD has already been successfully demonstrated, but a detailed understanding of the nanotribological behavior of UNCD surfaces has not yet been established. This study is aimed at probing both the top “as-grown” surface and the back surface (exposed by etching the substrate) of UNCD films. We will explore the effects of hydrogen termination on both surfaces by examining the morphological, adhesive, and frictional properties of the H-terminated vs. untreated UNCD films as a function of load, sliding speed, and relative humidity. Atomic force microscopy is used to examine the nanotribological properties of these surfaces, and XPS, AES, and SEM are used to characterize the surface structure and chemistry. We will discuss the relationships between nanotribological behavior, surface morphology, and surface chemistry of UNCD. These studies could also be of interest for bio-sensing applications involving H-terminated diamond surfaces.