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Highly wear resistant chemisorbed polar ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene thin film on Si surface for micro-system applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

Nalam Satyanarayana ,
Sujeet K. Sinha  and
Seh-Chun Lim
Nalam Satyanarayana
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576
Sujeet K. Sinha*
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576
Seh-Chun Lim
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576
*
a) Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: mpesks@nus.edu.sg
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Abstract

We report deposition and tribological studies of a chemisorbed UHMWPE (ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene) film on an Si surface. UHMWPE molecules containing carboxyl and hydroxyl chemical groups were chemisorbed onto an Si surface using an intermediate GPTMS SAM (glycidoxypropyltrimethoxy silane self-assembled monolayer) layer. The carboxyl and hydroxyl groups of UHMWPE molecules react with the terminal epoxy groups of GPTMS SAM during chemisorption. The resultant film (∼1.4 µm thick) has shown low coefficient of friction (∼0.1) and high wear life (exceeding 100,000 cycles) in a sliding test against a 4 mm diameter Si3N4 ball at a normal load of 0.3 N and a sliding velocity of 0.042 m/s measured on a micro-tribometer. In contrast, bare Si or GPTMS SAM modified Si has shown a higher coefficient of friction and failed within a few tens of sliding cycles. The high wear durability of the chemisorbed polymer film is attributed to the excellent adhesion of the UHMWPE film with the substrate due to chemisorption and to the good lubrication properties of UHMWPE molecules. This wear resistant film has potential applications in micro-electro-mechanical systems made of Si.

Keywords

PolymerThin filmTribology
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 24 , Issue 11 , November 2009 , pp. 3331 - 3337
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2009

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