IRGs

Many state-of-the-art microelectronic, photonic and MEMS devices are based upon small scale contacts for which performance and fabrication are governed by the deformation, adhesion, and transport properties of many diverse materials and interfaces. Yet despite the widespread use of such devices, there is only a limited understanding of the phenomena governing adhesion, a shortfall that has seriously impeded science-based design and analysis, especially as the devices become smaller and new materials and functions are introduced. The focus of IRG3 is to develop the multidisciplinary science that governs the fabrication and operation of such submicron- and nanoscale devices. Three overriding fundamental considerations are adhesion between materials in contact, deformation / failure / friction at very small scales and electrical transport through chemically-modified contacts.