Abstract
This paper investigates the mechanisms of the atomic-scale friction in the metal direct imprinting process by utilizing the molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, which is different from the ones during the scratching process conducted at a constant indenting depth. The relationships between the force and the imprinting depth are acquired first to realize the imprinting force and the demolding forces during the entire process, and also to confirm the substrate effect. To understand the effects of velocity on the process, various processing velocities are analyzed. Moreover, the surface of the mold is demarcated into three regions, namely, the bottom, the corner, and the sidewall surfaces, for the purpose of characterizing the different frictional mechanisms. The simulation results show that the trends of the frictional forces, growing with the imprinting depth, are similar in those regions, but their frictional mechanisms induced by the slip, substrate effect and bonding situations, respectively, are obviously different. The transferred results are also affected by frictional behavior. © 2007 The Japan Society of Applied Physics.