• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.63-71
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• 2008

Friction and adhesion tests were conducted to investigate tribological characteristics of materials for MEMS/NEMS using atomic force microscope (AFM). AFM Si tips were chemically modified with a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) derived from trichlorosilane like octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) and (1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorooctyl) trichlorosilane (FOTS), and various materials, such as Si, Al, Au, Cu, Ti and PMMA films, were prepared for the tests. SAMs were coated on Si wafer by dipping method prior to AFM tip to determine a proper dipping time. The proper dipping time was determined from the measurements of contact angle, surface energy and thickness of the SAMs. AFM tips were then coated with SAMs by using the same coating condition. Friction and adhesion forces between the AFM Si tip modified with SAM and MEMS/NEMS materials were measured. These forces were compared to those when AFM tip was uncoated. According to the results, after coating OTS and FOTS, the friction and adhesion forces on all materials used in the tests decreased; however, the effect of SAM on the reduction of friction and adhesion forces could be changed according to counterpart materials. OTS was the most effective to reduce the friction and adhesion forces when counterpart material was Cu film. In case of FOTS, friction and adhesion forces decreased the most effectively on Au films.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.152.2-152.2
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• 2005

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.21 no.11
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• pp.75-82
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• 2004

A metrological atomic force microscope (M-AFM) was developed fur the length measurements of nanometer range, through the modification of a commercial AFM. To eliminate nonlinearity and crosstalk of the PZT tube scanner of the commercial AFM, a two-axis flexure hinge scanner employing built-in capacitive sensors is used for X-Y motion instead of PZT tube scanner. Then two-dimensional displacement of the scanner is measured using two-axis heterodyne laser interferometer to ensure the meter-traceability. Through the measurements of several specimens, we could verify the elimination of nonlinearity and crosstalk. The uncertainty of length measurements was estimated according to the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement. Among several sources of uncertainty, the primary one is the drift of laser interferometer output, which occurs mainly from the variation of refractive index of air and the thermal stability. The Abbe error, which is proportional to the measured length, is another primary uncertainty source coming from the parasitic motion of the scanner. The expanded uncertainty (k =2) of length measurements using the M-AFM is √(4.26)$^2$+(2.84${\times}$10$^{-4}$ ${\times}$L)$^2$(nm), where f is the measured length in nm. We also measured the pitch of one-dimensional grating and compared the results with those obtained by optical diffractometry. The relative difference between these results is less than 0.01 %.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers Conference
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• 2002.10b
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• pp.61-62
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• 2002

In order to clarify the contact mechanism between specimen surface and probe tip in the surface observation by the AFM (atomic force microscope) or the FFM (friction force microscope), several molecular dynamics simulations have been performed. In the simulation, a 3-dimensional simulation model is proposed where the specimen and the probe are assumed to consist of mono-crystal line copper and a carbon atom respectively and the effect of cantilever stiffness is also taken into considered. The surface observation process on a well-defined Cu{100} is simulated. The influences of cantilever stiffness on the reactive force images and the behavior of probe tip were evaluated. As a resuIt, several phenomena similar to those observed by the actual surface observation experiment, such as double-slip behavior and dispersion in the stick-slip wave period were observed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2012.05a
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• pp.491-492
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• 2012

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2011.06a
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• pp.629-630
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• 2011

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers Conference
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• 2002.10b
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• pp.67-68
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• 2002

The properties and mechanism of silicon protuberance and groove processing by diamond tip sliding using atomic force microscope (AFM) in atmosphere were studied. To control the height of protuberance and the depth of groove, the processed height and depth depended on load and diamond tip radius were evaluated. Nanoprotuberances and grooves were fabricated on a silicon surface by approximately 100-nm-radius diamond tip sliding using an atomic force microscope in atmosphere. To clarify the mechanical and chemical properties of these parts processed, changes in the protuberance and groove profiles due to additional diamond tip sliding and potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution etching were evaluated. Processed protuberances were negligibly removed, and processed grooves were easily removed by additional diamond tip sliding. The KOH solution selectively etched the unprocessed silicon area. while the protuberances, grooves and flat surfaces processed by diamond tip sliding were negligibly etched. Three-dimensional nanofabrication is performed in this study by utilizing these mechanic-chemically processed parts as protective etching mask for KOH solution etching.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.19 no.7
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• pp.631-635
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• 2006

The properties of metal interlayered DLC films between the Si substrate and the DLC films were studied. DC magnetron sputtering method has been used to deposit intermediate layers of metals. And RF-PECVD method has been employed to synthesize DLC onto substrates of the silicon and metal layers. After we used metal Inter-layers, such as chromium, nickel, titanium and we studied tribological properties of the DLC films. The thickness of films were observed by field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). Also the surface morphology of the films were observed by an atomic force microscope (AFM). The crystallographic properties of the films were analyzed with X-ray diffraction (XRD), the friction coefficients were investigated by AFM in friction force microscope (FFM) mode. Tribological performances of the films were estimated by nano-indenter, stress tester measurement.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.15 no.11 s.104
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• pp.1295-1302
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• 2005

This paper shows experimental evaluation results of the nano-positioning planar scanner used in the scanning probe microscope. The planar scanner is composed of flexure guides, piezoelectric actuators and feedback sensors as like explained in detail in Ref. (5). First, the fabrication methods were explained. Second, as the static Properties of the Planar scanner. we evaluated the maximum travel range & crosstalk. Also, we presented the correcting method for crosstalk using electric circuits finally. as the dynamic properties of the planar scanner, we evaluated the first resonant frequency. Also, we presented the actual AFM(atomic force microscope) imaging results with up to 2Hz imaging scan rate. Experimental results show that properties of the proposed planar scanner are well enough to be used in SPM applications like AFM.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.18 no.10
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• pp.1772-1781
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• 2004

The mechanical as well as tribological characteristics of coating films as thin as a few nm become more crucial as applications in micro-systems grow. Especially, the amorphous carbon film has a potential to be used as a protective layer for micro-systems. In this work, quantitative evaluation of nano-indentation, scratching, and wear tests were performed on the 7nm thick amorphous carbon film using an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). It was shown that AFM-based nano-indentation using a diamond coated tip can be feasibly utilized for mechanical characterization of ultra-thin films. Also, it was found that the critical load where the failure of the carbon film occurred was about 18${\mu}$N by the ramp load scratch test. Finally, the wear experimental results showed that the quantitative wear rate of the carbon film ranged 10$\^$-9/～10$\^$-8/ ㎣ /N cycle. These experimental methods can be effectively utilized for a better understanding the mechanical and tribological characteristics at the nano-scale.