Scratch tests on micro-structured polymer surfaces produced by injection molding and reaction processes

This work focuses on the mechanical behavior of micro surface structures (molded both in the injection and reaction injection processes) in scratch tests using rounded cone indenters of different sizes. The interest in polymeric micro surface structures has increased in diagnostics, mass storage or optical fields as well as in the production of miniaturized devices such as micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) in which surface properties are essential. Using replication technologies like the injection molding process, such structures can be molded on a mass-production scale with low production costs at the same time. However, if the molded features are not protected, their surfaces are more sensitive compared to their unstructured surface and their functional loss is often a crucial factor. Therefore, the damage mechanisms of random and periodic structures at different length scales below 5 µm are investigated using an AFM and a SEM taking into account different materials and their structures