The surface energy and nano-adhesion behavior of some micro-component material in MEMS

Abstract

This paper compares and discusses the surface energy and its related factors between different kinds of micro-component materials commonly used in MEMS, and analyzes the nano-adhesion behaviors of their surfaces. The results by the Owens method show that the surface energies of the silicon-based materials are between 60—75 mJ/m2 and the presence of surface roughness would result in higher nominal surface energy when the contact angle is less than 90°. In contrast, the nominal surface energy would go much lower when the surface is rough with the coverage of a SAM film. There is a certain dependence of nano-adhesion on surface energy, and the effect of surface roughness on nano-adhesion can be neglected in the present study.