University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, England; Now, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 The work vf Jaeger [l] and Barber [2] indicates that the division of frictional heat between sliding solids should be sensitive to the interfacial boundary conditions. Thus it should provide a guide to the nature of asperity interactions and a more accurate statement of the...

As the size of electronic and mechanical devices shrinks to the nanometre regime, performance begins to be dominated by surface forces. For example, friction, wear and adhesion are known to be central challenges in the design of reliable microand nano-electromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS). Because of the complexity of the physical and chemical mechanisms underlying atomic-level tribology, it is...

Experimental measurements and modeling predictions were obtained to characterize the electro-mechanical response of two different gold contact radio frequency microelectromechanical system (RF MEMS) switches due to variations in the temperature and applied contact voltage. A three-dimensional surface roughness profile from AFM measurements of the top contact surface of a sample RF MEMS switch w...

A thermal asperity detection and recovery scheme for a disk-drive read channel is presented. The circuit design and simulation results for two key blocks, the AC coupler and its tuning loop, in a 0.5μm CMOS process are described.

The morphology of the tarsal attachment system of the running spider Philodromus dispar Walckenaer 1826 (Araneae, Philodomidae) was studied using scanning electron microscopy and its performance was experimentally tested in traction force measurements. Each pretarsus bears a hierarchically built hairy adhesive pad that consists of a dense array of flattened setae covered with numerous microtric...

Vertical vibrations at the slider leading edge exited by a disk asperity were investigated in a drive level system, using laser Doppler vibrometry and acoustic emission (AE) sensors. The flying height change at the leading edge of a thermal flying-height control slider was measured for different power inputs to the heater element. The maximum spacing change at the slider leading edge was found ...

Understanding contact between rough surfaces is of critical importance to the design of many engineering applications. Contact models rely on material properties and surface topography of the contacting surfaces as input parameters. Hence, the relevance of the contact models is dependent on their inherent assumptions and the accuracy with which the input parameters are determined. We have evalu...

Superlubricity of graphite and graphene has aroused increasing interest in recent years. Yet how to obtain a long-lasting superlubricity between graphene layers, under high applied normal load in ambient atmosphere still remains a challenge but is highly desirable. Here, we report a direct measurement of sliding friction between graphene and graphene, and graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (h...