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Article: Micromachines fabricated of amorphous diamond.(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Advanced Materials & Processes
- Article date:
- May 1, 2000
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 ASM International. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Micromachines made of amorphous diamond have reportedly been manufactured at Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, N.M., through techniques compatible with silicon micromachine fabrication methods.
According to researcher Dr. Tom Friedman, amorphous diamond was chosen as the material because of its wear resistance. "Diamond is more wear-resistant than polysilicon," he says. "Diamond should last 10,000 times longer than polysilicon in wear applications." Another advantage of diamond over silicon is that diamond reduces stiction, a combination of stickiness and friction, because it is not hydrophilic. It is also biocompatible.
The micromachine is one ...