ABSTRACT
It has been known for a long time that surface roughness is very important in determining the interaction force between contacting surfaces. Since the contacting surfaces are always rough (even though the roughness might be limited to the atomic scale), actual contact area occurs at the peaks of the inevitable surface irregAdhesion Aspects in MEMS/NEMS © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2010
ularities, where the local contact pressure can be very high [5, 6]. Furthermore, the details of the distribution of asperities can also affect the adhesion [7-9]. However, how roughness affects adhesion is still not well understood at a fundamental level.
