A Molecular Dynamics approach to investigate the tribological behaviour of Al-Si and α-Al2O3-Si interfaces at the nanoscale

The evolution of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Micro-Nano Electromechanical System (MEMS/NEMS) makes evident the trend towards the progressive miniaturisation of devices. The energy efficiencies at the nanoscale are, in turn, significantly lowered by friction force. The friction force depends not only on the tribological pair parameters and normal loads, but also on the crystalline structure of the materials in contact, their surface chemistry and roughness. Our research focuses on the nanometric friction force using Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations. An investigation of a system comprising a hemispheric silicon tip sliding on an aluminium oxide flat surface, aiming at understanding the interactions between the materials from an atomistic standpoint, was thus conducted.