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Polymer Jet Printing of SU-8 Micro-Dot Patterns on Si Surface: Optimization of Tribological Properties

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Abstract

Tribological properties of optimized SU-8 patterns (micro-dots with varying pitch) on Si (silicon) were evaluated using a ball-on-disk tribometer. Sliding tests on the patterns were conducted against a 2-mm diameter Si3N4 ball at varying normal loads and sliding velocities. It was observed that the pitch of the SU-8 pattern on Si substrate had a significant effect on the initial coefficient of friction and wear durability. Initial coefficient of friction studies have concluded that the SU-8 polymeric micro-dots improved the tribological properties by sharing the normal force and reducing the contact area. For the wear durability test, ultra-thin layer of perfluoropolyether was over-coated onto SU-8 micro-dot specimens, and the optimized pitch specimens have shown wear durability of more than 100,000 cycles at a normal load of 350 mN.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support given to this study by the National Research Foundation (NRF), Singapore (Award No. NRF-CRP 2-2007-04).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, 9 Engineering Drive 1, Singapore, 117576, Singapore

    Nam Beng Tay, Myo Minn & Sujeet K. Sinha

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  1. Nam Beng Tay
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  2. Myo Minn
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  3. Sujeet K. Sinha
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Correspondence to Sujeet K. Sinha.

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Tay, N.B., Minn, M. & Sinha, S.K. Polymer Jet Printing of SU-8 Micro-Dot Patterns on Si Surface: Optimization of Tribological Properties. Tribol Lett 42, 215–222 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-011-9765-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-011-9765-y

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