9504403 Komvopoulos The adhesion and microtribological phenomena of relevance to microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) will be studied. Special micromechanical devices will be constructed to allow measurement of the very minute forces involved. Emphasis will be given to the study of high friction leading to sticking during operation of micromachines due to capillary, van der Waals, and electrostatic force effects. The experimental studies will be supplemented with molecular dynamics simulations of normal and sliding contacts to analyze the dependence of friction on lattice parameters, direction and speed of motion, and temperature. From indentation measurements constitutive relations will be developed for evaluation of the tribological results. ***
