Home

|

Atomic Layer Deposition

|

Products

|

Services

|

Science

|

Contact Us

|

Media

BLADE EDGES

To improve the sharpness or decrease the friction coefficient of blade edges, ALD coatings can be applied. ALD coatings conformally coat around sharp razor edges, for example, improving edge strength and durability. A large number of blades can be coated all at once. Typical examples of wear resistant coatings are ZrO2, TiN and others.

This article describes a study of the static friction and wear of coated MEMS surfaces using thermally actuated friction microdevices. In order to characterize static friction and wear, a tribological deep reactive ion etched silicon test microstructure is developed. Reproducibility of the data is proven by testing multiple devices in parallel. Conformal coatings consisting of ALD TiO2 or ZrO2. The effect of film roughness and humidity on friction and wear is studied by exposing the coated MEMS devices to a relative humidity varying between 5% and 100%. The coatings were found to behave differently, ZrO2 and MoS2 decreasing the coefficient of friction compared to uncoated devices, while TiO2 presented a decrease in the coefficient of friction only at higher humidity. The wear data for the ALD coated devices, quantified from the point of view of "debris creation" and stability of the friction coefficient, indicate much improvement over native oxide coated silicon devices.

ALD is suitable for many applications in Semiconductors and nanoelectronics including Gate Dielectrics, Gate Electrodes, Diffusion Barriers, and DRAM | Dynamic Random Access Memory. In the optical fields, ALD can be applied to Optical Dielectric Multilayer Structures / Filters, OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode), Photonic Crystals and static Photonic Band Tuning, Transparent Conductors and Transparent Conducting Electrodes, TFEL or Thin Film Electroluminesence, Solar Cells, OLED Humidity Barrier, Precision Optics Coatings and Photonic Crystal Structures and Lasers. ALD is also applied to MEMS (micro electromechanical systems and Hydrophic & Anti-Stiction Layers in MEMS Devices. There are also applications of ALD in wear resistence, in coatings for blade edges and Nanocomposite Tungsten Disulphide solid lubricants. ALD is also used in nanostructures such as nanotubes & nanowires, and Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) tips. Other common applications of ALD are Catalysis & Catalyst Supports, Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Electrodes, Nano Glue, Biocompatible Coatings for medical instruments Ferromagnetic Transition Metals & Nanotubes and Internal Tube Liners and Inert Inner Linings.