Publications

Materials Issues for Micromachines Development - ASCI Program Plan

Fang, H.E.; Miller, Samuel L.; Dugger, Michael T.; Prasad, Somuri V.; Reedy, Earl D.; Thompson, Aidan P.; Wong, Chungnin C.; Yang, Pin Y.; Battaile, Corbett C.; Battaile, Corbett C.; Benavides, Gilbert L.; Ensz, M.T.; Buchheit, Thomas E.; Chen, Er-Ping C.; Christenson, Todd R.; De Boer, Maarten P.

This report summarizes materials issues associated with advanced micromachines development at Sandia. The intent of this report is to provide a perspective on the scope of the issues and suggest future technical directions, with a focus on computational materials science. Materials issues in surface micromachining (SMM), Lithographic-Galvanoformung-Abformung (LIGA: lithography, electrodeposition, and molding), and meso-machining technologies were identified. Each individual issue was assessed in four categories: degree of basic understanding; amount of existing experimental data capability of existing models; and, based on the perspective of component developers, the importance of the issue to be resolved. Three broad requirements for micromachines emerged from this process. They are: (1) tribological behavior, including stiction, friction, wear, and the use of surface treatments to control these, (2) mechanical behavior at microscale, including elasticity, plasticity, and the effect of microstructural features on mechanical strength, and (3) degradation of tribological and mechanical properties in normal (including aging), abnormal and hostile environments. Resolving all the identified critical issues requires a significant cooperative and complementary effort between computational and experimental programs. The breadth of this work is greater than any single program is likely to support. This report should serve as a guide to plan micromachines development at Sandia.