Friction between silicon and diamond at the nanoscale

This work investigates the nanoscale friction between diamond-structure silicon (Si) and diamond via molecular dynamics simulation. The interaction between the interfaces is considered as strong covalent bonds. The effects of load, sliding velocity, temperature and lattice orientation are investigated. Results show that the friction can be divided into two stages: the static friction and the kinetic friction. During the static friction stage, the load, lattice orientation and temperature dramatically affects the friction by changing the elastic limit of Si. Large elastic deformation is induced in the Si block, which eventually leads to the formation of a thin layer of amorphous Si near the Si-diamond interface and thus the beginning of the kinetic friction stage. During the kinetic friction stage, only temperature and velocity have an effect on the friction. The investigation of the microstructural evolution of Si demonstrated that the kinetic friction can be categorized into two modes (stick-slip and smooth sliding) depending on the temperature of the fracture region.