Electronic Control of Friction in Silicon pn Junctions

A remarkable dependence of the friction force on carrier concentration was found on doped silicon substrates. The sample was a nearly intrinsic n-type Si(100) wafer patterned with 2-micrometer-wide stripes of highly B-doped p-type material. The counter surface was the tip of an atomic force microsco...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2006-07, Vol.313 (5784), p.186-186
Main Authors: Park, Jeong Young, Ogletree, D. F., Thiel, P. A., Salmeron, M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brevia
Charge carriers
Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties
Electric current
Electric potential
Exact sciences and technology
Friction
Materials
Materials science
Mechanical and acoustical properties of condensed matter
Mechanical properties of solids
Nanotechnology
Physics
Pn junctions
Sampling bias
Semiconductors
Silicon
Substrates
Tribology and hardness
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A remarkable dependence of the friction force on carrier concentration was found on doped silicon substrates. The sample was a nearly intrinsic n-type Si(100) wafer patterned with 2-micrometer-wide stripes of highly B-doped p-type material. The counter surface was the tip of an atomic force microscope coated with conductive titanium nitride. The local carrier concentration was controlled through application of forward or reverse bias voltages between the tip and the sample in the p and the n regions. Charge depletion or accumulation resulted in substantial differences in friction force. The results demonstrate the capability to electronically control friction in semiconductor devices, with potential applications in nanoscale machines containing moving parts.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1125017