Nano-tribometer integrated with a nano-photonic displacement-sensing mechanism

Abstract

A novel nano-tribometer is developed to characterize the friction on the sidewall of several hundreds of nanometers thickness for NEMS applications. A sub-micron electrostatic comb-drive actuator is adopted to provide the required driving force as well as the movement for device operation. At the same time, a new displacement-sensing mechanism, demonstrating excellent integration capability and easy operation, is also proposed, exploiting the high sensitivity of the coupling of light between waveguides on their alignment. With this device, the kinetic coefficient of friction and the adhesion force appearing on the sidewall are experimentally measured to be 0.208 0.005 and 25.3 1.2 nN, respectively. Owing to its versatility, additional information about the air damping (6.06 0.01 × 10-8 kg s-1) imposed on the current device is also successfully extracted. © 2011 IOP Publishing Ltd.