Adhesive Force Characterization for MEM Logic Relays With Sub-Micron Contacting Regions

Contact adhesive force (Fa) scaling is critical for relay miniaturization, since the actuation area and/or actuation voltage must be sufficiently large to overcome the spring restoring force (Fk) in order to turn on the relay and Fk must be larger than Fa in order to turn off the relay. In this work...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of microelectromechanical systems 2014-02, Vol.23 (1), p.198-203
Main Authors: Yaung, Jack, Hutin, Louis, Jaeseok Jeon, Tsu-Jae King Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Actuation
adhesive force
Adhesives
Applied sciences
Contact
Dimpling
Electrodes
Exact sciences and technology
Force
Instruments, apparatus, components and techniques common to several branches of physics and astronomy
Logic
Mechanical engineering. Machine design
Mechanical instruments, equipment and techniques
MEM relay
Micromechanical devices and systems
Physics
Precision engineering, watch making
pull-in mode
Relays
Rough surfaces
Springs
stiction
Surface roughness
Surface topography
Surface treatment
Van der Waals forces
Voltage
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Summary:Contact adhesive force (Fa) scaling is critical for relay miniaturization, since the actuation area and/or actuation voltage must be sufficiently large to overcome the spring restoring force (Fk) in order to turn on the relay and Fk must be larger than Fa in order to turn off the relay. In this work, contact adhesive force is investigated in MEM logic relays with contact dimple regions as small as 100 nm in lateral dimension. The results indicate that van der Waals force is predominant. An adhesive force of 0.02 nN/nm 2 is extracted for tungsten-to-tungsten contact. Fa reduction should be possible with contact dimple size reduction and contact surface coating.
ISSN:1057-7157
1941-0158
DOI:10.1109/JMEMS.2013.2269995