A study of static friction between silicon and silicon compounds

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Abstract
Presents results from measurements of static coefficient of friction between materials of interest to microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). The materials studied include silicon, silicon dioxide, and silicon nitride. Two measurement techniques have been used to this study. In the first technique, static friction between two millimeter-sized flat components was measured in a 10-6 Torr vacuum chamber. In the second technique, static friction between a three-millimeter radius aluminum bullet coated with a material of interest and a flat substrate was measured in a approximately 5*10-10 Torr ultra-high vacuum (UHV) chamber. The results show that the coefficient of friction, mu , between silicon and silicon compound contacts in vacuum is in the range 0.2 to 0.7. The coefficients of friction between silicon dioxide/silicon dioxide and silicon dioxide/silicon contacts increase by 55% to 157% with increased exposure to humidity. Additionally, friction between similar materials behaves differently than that between dissimilar materials.

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