Kendall M. Hurst

Self-Assembled Monolayer-Immobilized Gold Nanoparticles as Durable, Anti-Stiction Coatings for MEMS

Self-assembled monolayer (SAM) films of p-aminophenyl trimethoxysilane (APhTS) and 3-mercaptopropyl trimethoxysilane (MPTS) were used to immobilize gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on silicon substrates and silicon-based microdevices, which created robust nanoparticle coatings that reduced microstructure adhesion. The terminal groups of APhTS and MPTS have both been previously shown to strongly interact and/or bind with metals and metallic nanoparticles. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis indicated that APhTS and MPTS monolayers improved the adhesion of gold nanoparticles deposited on silicon substrates and microstructures. SEM analysis also showed that the gold nanoparticle/organic monolayer (AuNP/APhTS or AuNP/MPTS) films were more robust than non-immobilized AuNP coatings toward both cantilever beam mechanical contact and water erosion testing. The combination of the rough, lower-energy surfaces of AuNP/APhTS and AuNP/MPTS films also effectively reduced the adhesion exhibited between microstructured surfaces by nearly two orders of magnitude as measured by the apparent work of adhesion. Smooth native oxide-coated Si(100) in-plane surfaces typically have an adhesion energy in excess of 30 mJ/m2 while AuNP/APhTS and AuNP/MPTS coatings reduced the adhesion energy to 0.655 and 1.66 mJ/m2, respectively.

A gas-expanded liquid nanoparticle deposition technique for reducing the adhesion of silicon microstructures

A gas-expanded liquid-based nanoparticle deposition technique was integrated with a critical point drying process to modify the surface of polysilicon microstructures in order to reduce the adhesion that ordinarily occurs due to dominant interfacial surface forces. Dodecanethiol-capped gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were deposited onto arrays of cantilever beams using gas-expanded liquid technology in an effort to increase the surface roughness, thereby reducing the real contact surface area as well as changing the chemical constituents of the contacting areas. Both AuNP-coated and uncoated (native oxide surface) arrays were actuated electrostatically in order to determine the work of adhesion. The results of this study indicate that while cantilever beams with only their native oxide exhibit apparent adhesion energies of about 700 +/- 100 microJ m(-2), cantilever beam arrays coated with AuNPs exhibit an apparent adhesion energy of about 8 microJ m(-2) or less. These results indicate that metallic nanoparticle coatings can be successfully applied to micromachines and provide a drastic reduction in apparent adhesion energy.

Characterization of gas-expanded liquid-deposited gold nanoparticle films on substrates of varying surface energy.

Dodecanethiol-stabilized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were deposited via a gas-expanded liquid (GXL) technique utilizing CO(2)-expanded hexane onto substrates of different surface energy. The different surface energies were achieved by coating silicon (100) substrates with various organic self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). Following the deposition of AuNP films, the films were characterized to determine the effect of substrate surface energy on nanoparticle film deposition and growth. Interestingly, the critical surface tension of a given substrate does not directly describe nanoparticle film morphology. However, the results in this study indicate a shift between layer-by-layer and island film growth based on the critical surface tension of the capping ligand. Additionally, the fraction of surface area covered by the AuNP film decreases as the oleophobic nature of the surfaces increases. On the basis of this information, the potential exists to engineer nanoparticle films with desired morphologies and characteristics.

Estimating surface coverage of gold nanoparticles deposited on MEMS

Commercialization of a whole spectrum of useful MEMS is still hindered by surface phenomena that dominate at the micron scale. Altering the roughness and surface chemistry of MEMS surfaces by depositing nanoparticles on them is being considered by the MEMS community as a useful strategy to address tribological issues. Although, gold nanoparticle monolayer is reported to reduce adhesion in MEMS, determining its surface coverage still remains a challenge [1]. A technique to determine the surface coverage of deposited gold nanoparticles is needed, so that its effect on the tribology of MEMS surfaces can be studied.

A systematic investigation of the critical tribological properties of a gold nanoparticle coating used for texturing micro-electromechanical systems surfaces

This paper reports on a novel gold nanoparticle (AuNP) coating, which is deposited on micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) surfaces using a gas-expanded liquid technique and characterized using atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and several microinstruments. Surface coverage of the AuNP coating, which is determined using a resonating microinstrument; and the tribological properties including the work of adhesion, the coefficient of static friction and the rupture strength of the AuNP coating, which are determined using specific microinstruments, are reported in the paper.

Surface Texturing Using Gold Nanoparticles to Reduce Adhesion in MEMS

Since the advent of Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology, researchers have used surface texturing as one of the approaches to alleviate unintentional adhesion in MEMS. However, the conventional methods used for surface texturing are reported to reduce apparent in-plane adhesion only by a factor of 20. Further, the test surfaces used to-date are inherently rough, as a result of which, the effects of surface texturing could not be studied independently. We report on a novel method of texturing inherently smooth Si(100) surfaces by depositing dodecanethiol capped gold nanoparticles using a gas-expanded liquid technique. The dodecanethiol capping ligands are removed by exposing the treated surfaces to UV-Ozone atmosphere for an hour and the textured surfaces thus obtained are characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The textured Si(100) surfaces exhibit a significant reduction in apparent in-plane work of adhesion, which is determined using the cantilever beam array (CBA) technique, compared to untextured smooth Si(100) surfaces having only native oxide on them.

Silica-Encapsulated Nanoparticle Films as Surface Modifications for MEMS

In an effort to improve the reliability of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), silica thin films deposited by chemical vapor deposition were used to encapsulate gold nanoparticle coatings. These composite coatings were shown to provide extremely durable films that significantly reduce the adhesion energy of silicon-based microcantilever beams. The results discussed suggest that encapsulating nanoparticle films with a durable silica thin film may lead to improved MEMS reliability.

Reduced Microstructure Adhesion Provided by Gas-Expanded Liquid Deposited Gold Nanoparticles

In order to alleviate or eliminate the occurrence of stiction during the actuation of microstructures, the real contact area available for contact must be reduced. Au nanoparticles were intentionally deposited using gas-expanded liquids onto polysilicon cantilever beam arrays to increase surface roughness. The nanoparticle-coated beams were subjected to an actuation voltage of 120 V. Following actuation, the adhesion of beams was quantified by estimating the apparent work of adhesion. Au nanoparticles deposited onto these microstructures were shown to drastically reduce the effects of in-use stiction. Capillary adhesion due to condensation of ambient moisture was effectively eliminated.Copyright