Nano-scale Abrasion Studies of Materials Used in Mems Devices and Packages

A number of devices in MEMS introduce frictional contacts between moving surfaces, resulting in particle generation. In this paper, we explore the nano-scale abrasion characteristics of four materials that are commonly encountered in MEMS devices and packages: aluminum (Al), silicon (Si), Pyrex glass, and glass-mica ceramic (Macor). A commercial scribing tool has been adapted to provide controlled velocity and force, and accurate positioning for abrasion utilizing two abrasion heads: a diamond facet edge that provides high-speed serial abrasion, and a custom aluminagrit head that provides parallelism. While Al is easily abraded, it tends to create build-up of material along the edges. Silicon provides triangular clean groves with minimum widths ≈ 460 nm. Macor provides scalloped grooves that show some chipping and have minimum widths of ≈ 320 nm. Glass provides clean, rounded grooves, with minimum widths of ≈ 200 nm. This paper also describes how controlled abrasion can be exploited for the non-lithographic fabrication of nanochannels.