TY - GEN
T1 - MEMS lubrication by tribochemical reaction
AU - Dugger, Michael T.
AU - Ohlhausen, James A.
AU - Asay, David B.
AU - Kim, Seong H.
PY - 2008
Y1 - 2008
N2 - A means of providing replenishable lubrication to rubbing silicon surfaces is demonstrated. Alcohol at a small fraction of saturation vapor pressure is introduced in a nitrogen environment. Pin-on-flat sliding experiments in this environment reveal a friction coefficient near 0.2, and absence of wear above a critical alcohol concentration. This lubrication approach was also demonstrated in microfabricated silicon machines, where the devices operated at least a factor of 104 longer without failure when alcohol vapor was present in the nitrogen gas environment, compared to devices in dry N2 with a chemisorbed monolayer alone. When water vapor was added to the environment, vapor lubrication by alcohol was inhibited at concentration ratios of water: alcohol = 2.5:1.
AB - A means of providing replenishable lubrication to rubbing silicon surfaces is demonstrated. Alcohol at a small fraction of saturation vapor pressure is introduced in a nitrogen environment. Pin-on-flat sliding experiments in this environment reveal a friction coefficient near 0.2, and absence of wear above a critical alcohol concentration. This lubrication approach was also demonstrated in microfabricated silicon machines, where the devices operated at least a factor of 104 longer without failure when alcohol vapor was present in the nitrogen gas environment, compared to devices in dry N2 with a chemisorbed monolayer alone. When water vapor was added to the environment, vapor lubrication by alcohol was inhibited at concentration ratios of water: alcohol = 2.5:1.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=43449136997&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=43449136997&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1115/IJTC2007-44308
DO - 10.1115/IJTC2007-44308
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:43449136997
SN - 0791848108
SN - 9780791848104
T3 - 2007 Proceedings of the ASME/STLE International Joint Tribology Conference, IJTC 2007
SP - 873
EP - 875
BT - 2007 Proceedings of the ASME/STLE International Joint Tribology Conference, IJTC 2007
T2 - 2007 ASME/STLE International Joint Tribology Conference, IJTC 2007
Y2 - 22 October 2007 through 24 October 2007
ER -