Thermal degradation and burnishing wear of thin carbon film by frictional heat generation

The burnishing wear of carbon films found in dynamic microdevices could be attributed to both mechanical stress and temperature rise by frictional heat generation. In this study, novel modeling and experiment were performed to investigate the burnishing wear mechanism of carbon film during high speed sliding contact. An improved thermomechanical contact model for a single asperity was extended to rough surface contact. The contact stress and surface temperature rise were examined at various contact conditions. To verify the thermal degradation of the carbon film by frictional heat flux, micro-Raman spectroscopy measurement was performed on actual burnishing failure sample.